Come what may
by InAthena'sCabin
Summary: Don't you just love it, when you're about to be thrown in a freezing lake and then BOOM! your friend comes and drags you and a bunch of your other friends camping? Percabeth and some hints towards Grover/Thalia. Grolia? Haha. Enjoy folks! Luv ya!
1. Let's go camping!

**Helloo people! You're just about to read my first fic ever (like evar, evar). Reviews are very much appreciated! Takes part after TLO, but Percy and Annabeth are not together. Neither are Grover and Juniper. Percabeth-filled, so if you don't like the couple, you really don't have to read it. If you love Percabeth, like me, I wish you have a good time reading my scribble. :) In any case, I hope you enjoy this!**

**Disclaimer: A little bird told me, that I actually don't own PJO. It belongs to this guy Rick Riordan, thank the gods for him!**

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**Annabeth's POV**

_I woke up screaming my lungs out. I was drenched with sweat and somehow I had gotten myself tangled in my sleeping bag from tossing wildly in my sleep. The dream had been awful. I tried not to think about it._

_"Calm down, Annabeth", I told myself. "It was only a dream. Not real." But I still couldn't find the will to stop panicking._

_I finally stopped screaming, now embarrased. Had I woken someone? No, all others were fast asleep. Especially Percy, who was drooling again. If I hadn't just woken up from the most horrifying nightmare of my life, I'd probably have laughed at Percy's drooling. But not now._

_What's going on over here, you may ask. Well, I suppose I'll start from the very beginning..._

It was a completely normal afternoon. Nothing special. Me and Percy were practicing swordplay in the field next to the lake. Percy was cheating, of course. Now and then he would make the water in the lake splash on my face and blind me for a second so he could get away from the tough spot. Yeah, I could say it was a perfectly ordinary afternoon at Camp Half-Blood. Of course, when you are a demigod, everything is high above normal. But this was as normal as it could get for us. At least we weren't attacked by monsters or titans.

I personally liked this kind of life. A life without monsters, I mean. Just me, Percy, the lake and swordfighting and other forms of practice here at camp. I had grown tired of constant battle and fear for mine and others lives. My thoughts drifted back to the time when Percy first came at Camp Half-Blood. I was young and enthusiastic of going on quests and fighting monsters. I was green of jealousy when I found out that Percy had fought a minotaur. _I_ had wanted to fight monsters for _years_ and then this good-for-nothing boy comes up and gets _everything _I'd wanted. A quest, fights, EVERYTHING! It was so unfare then. But now I was just glad everything was nice and calm.

I woke up from my thoughts when Percy sent my sword flying out of my hand.

"Earth calling Wise Girl! Wise girl, do you copy?" he grinned at me.

"Shut it, Seaweed Brain and wipe that grin off your face", I said, though smiling. 'Wise girl', his nickname for me was something I kinda liked to hear.

"Are you trying to tell me off, huh?" he asked and lifted his eyebrows. I saw he had something going on.

"Yes, I am. And I'm well authorized to doing so", I answered him with a smirk.

"Oh really?" he asked and the next thing I knew he'd scooped me up in his arms and he started to walk towards the lake.

"No! Percy, put me down this instant or you'll suffer the concequences!"

I SO didn't want to get soaking wet. The water in the lake looked cold. But you just couldn't reason with this guy when he wanted to do something. Not to mention something having something to do with water. All he did was laughed as I stuggled to get off his hold. He stopped at the bank and started to swing me counting:

"One... two... thr..."

"Perseus Jackson!" someone behind us shouted. He dropped me back onto the ground.

_'Whew!'_ I thought. I wasn't gonna get wet. Both of us turned to see who'd called for Percy.

It was Thalia.

"Thalia! Oh my gods it's so great to see you!" I screamed and ran to hug my best friend.

"It's good to see you too," she said smiling from ear to ear.

"I see I got here just in time," she noted and looked meaningfully at Percy, who too had come to greet our huntress friend.

"Totally. Thanks Thals. If it weren't for you, I'd be soaking wet by now."

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Pinecone Face," Percy pouted, though we all knew he wasn't truly angry.

"Great to see you too, Percy," Thalia laughed and pulled Percy in a hug. Though she had joined the hunters of the goddess Artemis, she was still allowed to hug her friends, boys or not.

The three of us started to walk toward the cabins. We had a lot to catch up with each other.

We eventually made our way to cabin one.

"Gods, I've missed this place!" Thalia sighed and sat onto her bed (well, I'm not quite sure, if you could call the bed _hers_ really. She rarely sleeps in it, cause she's with the Hunters).

She watched me and Percy curiously. "Soo... What have you been up to? It's been like ages we last saw each other!" she asked.

We told her about the peaceful summer we'd had. I have to admit, it sounded a bit dull really, not doing anything particularly interesting, but it was just perfect for me. And I'm quite sure Percy didn't mind it either. Thalia on the other hand seemed a bit bored with our story.

"How about you?" Percy asked her. "What have you been doing lately? Any big fights you've participated? Any action for you this summer?"

"Yeah! Oh my gods. This must have been the most exciting summer I've ever had!" she got excited and started to describe every detail of their last fight against Geryon, the grandson of Medusa and went on and on until after finishing her story of the day, when they successfully saved Cerynitis, the sacred hind of Artemis, from the Cyclops in New Jersey, Percy (thank gods) prevented her from continuing into a new story and asked, if Thalia wanted to stay at camp for dinner.

"I'd be delighted!" she answered and the huntress story time was over.

Thalia wanted to see Chiron, so we walked to the Big House, where Chiron and Mr. D were playing pinochle accompanied by Grover, who stalked Mr. D's Diet Coke cans. Grover was the first to spot us coming. He let out an enthusiastic bla-ha-haa and ran (or what on earth satyrs did) to greet us. He really liked Thalia. He'd always liked her, but even more now that she was a huntress and a nature lover etc.

"Oh, Grover, it's so nice to see you too!" Thalia shrieked when Grover pulled her into a warm embrace. We all walked closer to the porch where Mr. D and Chiron had cut off their game and watched us, Chiron with a smile, Mr. D with a grimace.

"Thalia! So nice to see you here!" Chiron stood up and greeted her his arms open.

"Good to see you too, Chiron. It's been ages," Thalia answered.

She turned to face Mr. D, who frowned and half-heartedly said: "Yeah, yeah, hello Tabitha." Thalia grinned. Mr. D never used our real names. Except in rare occasions and when I say rare, I mean once in a lifetime experiences.

Chiron, Grover and Mr. D continued their game and we stayed and watched and chatted with Grover and Chiron. Mr. D would occasionally mumble something about unwanted visitors and extra children, but we kinda ignored him.

Finally after Chiron and Grover let Mr. Sunshine win Chiron stood up again and said: "Now children, it's time for dinner. Off you go. I'll come later behind."

Thalia, Percy, Grover and I started pacing slowly towards the mess hall. Chiron had given us a permission to sit in one table in rare occasions such as this so we headed towards Poseidon's table to get the whole table for ourselves.

After giving the gods their share of our meal and Dr. D informing we had a special guest over here (read: "My sad mission is to inform you that an extra brat has dropped by. Hip hooray and stuff like that." *Thunder* "Okay, okay! Your daughter is honoring us with her presence!") we dig in. When Mr. D. had told everyone Thalia was here, a couple of other friends joined us at our table, including Nico. We chattered and laughed as we reminisced our adventures together. Then Thalia went all serious and that took us others by surprise. She looked like she had something very important to say.

"I actually have a reason to visit you," she told us. Uh-oh. That didn't sound good to me. Oh, please don't tell it's another quest, please! We'd just got accustomed to the peace and quiet.

"You see, one night I got this wild idea..." she continued. What? This didn't sound like a quest anymore. What could it be?

"...and I thought I'd ask you to come with me. Let's go camping!" she suggested. There was an acceptive murmur among us. That would be awesome! I'd always liked the outdoors. The sleeping in sleeping bags in a tent with a crackling fire sort of thing. Except for the spiders, though. I hated spiders.

Thalia seemed pleased of how her idea had been taken.

"I suppose it's settled then!" she decided. "Let's ask Chiron!"

And so we went, the whole group, to ask for Chiron's permission to leave the camp for a while. After promising to be extra careful and to never go anywhere without company (and maybe a couple of kneels and some serious begging) he let us go. Hooray! We were going camping!

Later that night we were at the bonfire with the other campers. We had a lot of fun. Percy and Nico entertained us with jokes they had made up by themselves and Grover played his reed pipes. He had improved with his playing. He could play a variety of songs, which weren't ancient hits (such as YMCA) or just plain freaky (like 'They're coming to take me away'). And we actually sang along to his playing. Many people came to us to say hi to Thalia. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Perfect. Once when Thalia was surrounded by people Percy tapped me on my shoulder.

"Too much people. Would you care for a walk?" he asked. I was glad he suggested that. I was starting to get distressed of the amount of people around us. So we started walking toward the beach. We talked about this and that, the camping trip we were going on tomorrow, todays sword fighting practice...

When we reached the beach we sat on the two large rocks right on the shore. We'd sat there many times, talking. It was relaxing talking to Percy. His presence always made me calm. There was just something about him, thad did it. Maybe it was the eyes. The way they went all warm and soft when he looked at me. Mind you, I've looked at his eyes a lot. Not that he notices anything. I've had a little crush on him since the quest where we went to retrieve the golden fleece from Polyphemus. It was a secret. Even Thalia didn't know about it unless she had guessed but I had tried to hide it from everyone. I really didn't think Percy's feelings matched mine though. We were just friends.

We'd sat there talking for I really don't know how long, but although it was still bright, I started to get a bit cold. I shivered.

"Are you cold?" Percy asked me.

"A bit," I admitted.

"Here, take this", he said and gave me his hoodie. I put it on and it smelled just like him. His scent was (okay, this is gonna sound a bit cheesy especially coming from my mouth) mouthwatering. A hint of sea breeze combined with his deodorant. One of my favorite scents in the world. I sighed.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Percy. He was looking at me, looking curious.

"It's nothing," I lied. "Just thinking about the trip." But he wasn't fooled.

"I don't believe you..." he said teasingly. "What are you sighing for?"

"I just said. It's nothing. Just drop it off, okay?" I snapped at him and the next moment wished I'd hadn't. He looked hurt. He'd just tried to ask what's up with me.

"I'm sorry, Seaweed Brain," I apologized. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

That brightened him up, which I was very glad of. We continued to talk and the subject changed to Grover and Thalia. We'd both seen how enthusiastic Grover had went when Thalia came. We tried to predict how long it would take of them to become a couple. I guessed it would take six months from now, considering that Thalia was a huntress and not supposed to date anyone. Percy on the other hand thought about it as a minor fact and said that two months would be more accurate. That started a frantic debate on who was right.

I started to get a bit drowsy. I yawned.

"Tired? We should probably go to sleep. We have a trip ahead tomorrow," said Percy.

"No, let's stay for a little longer," I insisted. I didn't want to get separated from Percy just now, when we were having so much fun.

"Okay, but we can't stay for long, or Mr. D.'ll be furious," he reminded me.

So we stayed there, continuing our debate, but soon dropping it off when we realized neither one of us would give up. There would be moments when neither of us spoke, we just watched the sun finally set into the horizon. I wished the moment would never end.

I might have dozed off for a while, because the second thing I knew was that Percy was carrying me towards my cabin. I pretended to be asleep and snuggled closer to his chest. He held me carefully, adjusting his arms now and then. When he reached my cabin he tried hard not to wake any of my siblings up. He carried me to my bed, laid me down and pulled my blanket over me.

"Goodnight, Annabeth," he said softly, kissed me swiftly on my forehead and sneaked out of our cabin.

Oh my gods, he actually _kissed _me! On the forehead but still.

On that thought I fell asleep. I dreamed happy dreams.

_I was walking down the beach with Percy holding hands. He was wearing his swimming trunks and a black top, the one I liked the most on him. His sixpack, which he'd got from almost daily practice at camp showed well under the top. We paced slowly at the waterline and the little waves of the Long Island Sound broke on our ankles. Suddenly Percy stopped. He turned to face me and gently sweeped a strand of hair from my cheek. His face was so close to mine. I could feel his warm breath on my face. _

"_Annabeth," he whispered. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_I think I..."_

Then I woke up to a familiar voice yelling my name.

"ANNABETH CHASE! RISE AND SHINE!"

It was Thalia.

"Piss off. Let me sleep," I mumbled. Why did she have to wake me up just now? Just when things were starting to get interesting? Now this was just annoying.

Thalia pulled my blanket off me.

"There's no way you'll get to sleep any longer! Everyone else is ready to go already!" she complained.

I stretched and slowly opened my eyes. I jumped. Thalia's face was just above mine, her eyes the startling blue they always were. From this angle she looked scary.

"Thalia!" I screamed. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Haha, well that should've woken you up," she grinned at me.

I had no other option, than just get off my bed. I changed into my trekking clothes, which I had set for today. We'd packed all our stuff yesterday before the bonfire. I pulled my hair on a messy pony tail. I was so tired, that I really didn't care how I looked. I tried to be sneaky so no-one else would wake up. It was three in the morning after all.

Everyone else were almost done with their breakfast when Thalia and I made it to the Mess Hall.

"Morning, sleepy head," Nico grinned at me when we reached Poseidon's table, where our camping group had settled.

Our group consisted of five people: Thalia, Percy, Nico, Grover and me. I grumbled something at Nico's comment and started slowly eating my sandwich. Everyone else talked animatedly about our coming trip. I ate in silence, thinking about my dream. No one seemed to notice my silence though. Good. I wouldn't have to explain anything.

After I'd dealed with my sadwich, we said goodbye to Chiron, who cautioned us about safety again and then we went to gather up our things from our cabins. We agreed to meet at Thalia's tree in ten minutes. When I went into my cabin, some of my siblings were awake. I had probably woken them up. They came to say goodbye. Jenny gave me a warm hug and made me swear I'd come back alive. I promised to do so. It was an easy promise. What on earth could happen? I mean, we might run into some monsters, but it would be a piece of cake. It wasn't like we were going to camp in the Underworld. Give me a break.

We all made it to Thalia's tree in seven minutes. Even Grover, who'd packed some extra cans with him so that his backpack was bulging. It looked heavy to me. Well, I supposed it'd lighten quite quickly. Then something occurred to me.

"Thalia?" I said

"Yeah?"

"You haven't told us where actually we're going," I noted.

"Oh, yeah!" she realized. "I've been so excited about the fact you're coming with me I haven't remembered to tell you."

"Well?" Percy started to get interested in the subject too.

Percy. He looked sinfully good even in his trekking clothes. He wore a pair of cargo shorts and a brown top, that by the looks of it, used to be a T-shirt. Just like in my dream, his sixpack showed through it. I might have drooled, but I decided not to.

Thalia grinned.

"Well, I once came across this awesome place while running with the Hunters," she explained.

"And... where is it?" asked Nico.

"It's in Illinois. The Shawnee forest. Ring any bells?"

"Illinois?" Grover bleated. "How in Hades do you think we'll get there?"

"Ever heard of Amtrak, Grover?" Thalia asked, grinning.

Amtrak? Wow, this is going to get interesting. Thalia smiled at our dumbfound faces.

"We'll take the Cardinal line to Chicago and then take a bus to Shawnee," she explained.

"Alright!" Percy and Nico yelled and gave eachother high-fives.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked. "Let's go!"

Argus gave us a ride to the Penn station. The Camp Half-Blood SUV was packed with our stuff and we tried to squeeze in as comfortably as possible. Mind you, in the end it wasn't comfortable at all.

"How did you come across this place we're going to, Thalia?" Grover asked. He was squashed between me and Nico.

"When we were searching for the sacred hind of Artemis, we found a trail, that led in Shawnee. It wasn't the one, though. We found the her in New Jersey from a lair of a cyclops," Thalia explained. Grover shuddered. He didn't like cyclopes much. Even Tyson, Percy's little (well, little...) cyclops brother gave him the creeps.

The ride took about an hour. It was boiling hot in the car and we were sweating like mad, squashed against eachother. I was being flattened between Grover and Percy. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. An hour almost sitting on his lap in a small car. Heavenly. NOT! It was so hot in the back seat I couldn't even think about how awesome it was squeezed to his side.

When we finally got out of the scorching car and grabbed our stuff I could see all of us were relieved. After Argus left we walked inside the station. It was cool inside. Heavenly. Thalia went to purchase our tickets and the rest of us went to sit on the benches in the corner. We were quite exhausted of the ride in the boiling car. Soon enough Thalia came back waving our tickets in her hand.

"We have one and a half hours until the train leaves," Thalia announced when she reached us. We decided to start a poker game on the station floor while we waited. We used our drachmas as poker chips. Nico had an amazing poker face. He kicked our asses in the game.

Soon there were only Nico and I playing and the others watched. Grover had started to nibble on his cans. I wanted to beat Nico just once. Grover and Percy eventually became my cheerleaders. Whenever I won a round they would scream in joy and Grover would wave his soda cans in the air like pompoms while chanting something like "Wise Girl fans in the stands, let me hear you clap your hands!" We must've looked kinda weird to the others, who sat on the benches and waited for their trains, but we really didn't care. We were free. We weren't bound to anything just now and we wanted to take the most of it.

When I was so close to get the last of Nico's drachmas we heard an announcement from the loudspeakers that said our train has come to the platform.

"Oh Styx, I was just about to kick Nico's ass!" I groaned.

"Don't worry, Annabeth. You'll get to kick his ass many times during our ride to Chicago", Percy promised.

Whe gathered up our cards and drachmas and left for the platform. The train we mounted was quite empty. There were lots of empty compartments, which we got to choose from. We found a completely empty car and settled into one of the compartments.

Me and Nico continued our game from where we'd left it and eventually I won. We all cheered and Grover started to chant again. Percy went on with him, waving Grover's rasta cap in his hand. I grinned at them.

Our ride from New York to Staunton, Virginia took eight hours during which we chatted and looked out of our window. The views were amazing! There were times when no one spoke, we just stared at the view in awe. Eventually a few of us started to get sleepy. Grover fell asleep his head against the window and Nico started to doze off. Soon even Percy hit the sac (well, the floor actually). That left me and Thalia awake. We were quiet. Now and then asking about the time or stuff like that. Suddenly Thalia asked:

"What's up with you and Percy?"

I kinda understood what she meant, but I just couldn't understand why she'd asked or how did she know anything about my feelings towards Percy.

"Nothing, what do you mean?" I tried to look innocent.

"I _mean_ that you look like you have a crush on a certain Seaweed Brain," she chuckled.

_'Okay, here goes,'_ I thought and said:

"If you tell anyone, I'll beat you up, got it? Not even a hint!"

"I _knew _it! I just knew it!" she almost sang.

She started to ask me random questions about my feelings towards Percy. How long I'd liked him, what did I like the most about him, how did I feel when I saw him in the morning... And I answered truthfully. After all, she was my best friend and I trusted her. Deep inside I knew she wouldn't reveal my secret. She just wouldn't. Right?

After about a half an hour both of felt like sleeping. It was 11 am and still four hours to go so we thought we could get a couple of hours sleep. Unlike the boys, we took our sleeping bags and slept on the floor. Percy had fallen asleep on the floor, so we heaved him on the bench next to Grover to get more room for ourselves. We sank into our sleeping bags and soon enough we both drifted to sleep.

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That was what happened before. The next thing I knew I was wide awake and screaming. Now I was calmed down a bit. Just enough to think clearly. I tried to memorize the dream, although I really didn't want to remember. It had been too awful. I shivered from the bare thought of it. I looked at Percy's watch. It was almost two o'clock. I shook Thalia's shoulder.

"Thalia!"

She groaned, still half asleep. "Mmph... What?"

"Time to wake up. We're going to arrive in Staunton in an hour," I told her.

"Oh!" she shoved herself up, looking at me.

"Wow, look at you!" she said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've run into a ghost! Or a fury! Or maybe even Hades!" she mused.

"Haha..." I tried to laugh at her, but I knew it was half-hearted. I was still a bit shocked from the nightmare. Thalia's face turned serious.

"No, really", she said. "What's up? Has something happened?" She looked concerned.

"Well..." I said. "I actually had a nightmare."

"Uh-oh, Annabeth," Thalia said. "Tell me everything."

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**This was the first chapter of my re-uploaded fic. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll be back.**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	2. Trains of comfort

**Hellooo folks! Now we'll finally find out about Annabeth's nightmare. Hold on to your invisibilty caps! Here we go!**

Thalia took my hand. I guess I looked that upset to her. On the other thought, I _was _upset.

"Take your time, Annabeth. You look awful. You can tell me when you're ready to deal with it, okay?" Thalia promised. I was grateful having a friend like that. She was one of a kind. I was so overwhelmed by gratefulness, exhaustion and fright that I didn't even notice I'd started sobbing before Thalia wrapped her arms around me. She didn't say anything, just held me there until I'd calmed down a bit. Then she looked at me.

"Are you ready to tell me now, Annabeth?" she asked carefully. I nodded. I gathered my strength to speak.

"I was running in a forest", I started to tell.

"It was dark and I couldn't see a thing. I was followed. I had to run for my life. After a while I reached this strange place. There were these weird rocks piled upon another. I heard a rumbling sound coming beneath my feet. Then I saw a weird mummy sitting on one of the rocks..."

"The Oracle?" Thalia interrupted. "Did she say something? A prophecy?"

"Shut up! I'm trying to explain here!" I snapped at her and continued:

"Her mouth opened and a wisp of green smoke poured out of it. Then I heard a raspy voice saying:

'I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo. I have a message for you, young hero.'

I was terrified. I couldn't speak, I wanted to run, but my legs didn't obey me. The same voice spoke again. It said:

'Five will take the chariot on rails

And run into one of the ancient tails.

Gods and titans shall be combined

When in the garden the words the heroes will find.

One of the group will be betrayed by a friend

And one in concern will meet his end.

Listen, hero, to the words of caution:

Always remember the temper of the ocean.'"

Thalia looked thunderstruck. But that wasn't all.

"The dream changed. Everything faded around me and I was left alone in the darkness. I heard the noise of battle around me, though I couldn't see where it was coming from. Then a single spotlight lit in the darkness and..." My voice broke. I couldn't tell any more. It was too horrible.

"Oh, Annabeth. Tell me. What was there?" Thalia asked. "It's important that I know."

"Percy", I sobbed.

"What about him, honey?" asked Thalia.

"He was d..." I couldn't finish my sentence, I just broke into much bigger sobs. Thalia seemed to understand though.

"Shh, Annabeth. Don't cry. It's gonna be okay. It was only a dream", she tried to calm me down.

"I know", I managed to whisper between my sobs. "But it was so... _real_."

After a while, I had calmed down that much, that we could wake the boys up. It was almost time to change the train. I was just about to start the waking-up process, but Thalia stopped me.

"No, don't wake them up just yet!" she told me. "I think we should tell Chiron about your dream."

She was probably right. Chiron would want to know about it. And if it was a real prophecy and was about this trip, we had to be extra careful. Maybe Chiron could help us a bit.

"The question is, though, how are we going to tell him..." Thalia pondered. I already had the answer:

"By Iris message of course!" I said, a bit smug about coming up with an idea in this mental condition.

"Where are you going to get a place with sprayable water, oh wise daughter of Athena?" Thalia asked, her voice challenging and a bit playful at the same time. I dragged her out of our compartment and towards the lavatory.

I opened the tap.

"Put your finger under the tap so that the water sprays off it", I ordered and she obeyed me. As I had thought, the water started spraying off Thalia's finger. It sprayed all over us too, but we didn't care as long as we could send a message to Chiron. I threw a drachma into the spray and prayed:

"O, goddess! Accept my offering."

Chiron's figure floated in the air. He was teaching intermediate archery.

"Chiron!" I called at him. He seemed confused, not seeing where my voice was coming from, until he spotted me.

"Oh, Annabeth! Good afternoon, my girl. Is everything okay?" he said.

I told him everything about my dream and he listened carefully, nodding occasionally. After my story he was quiet for a while. Then he said:

"I have to say, I haven't heard the oracle appearing into one's dream in a hundred years, but I'm quite sure, that the prophecy she gave you was real."

I was horrified again. It was true. Someone was going to die...

"But don't worry, Annabeth. It will turn out alright", Chiron reassured me.

"I'll try to do some research here and I'll get in touch with you if I find something, that would help you on this quest. That's the best I can do right now", he promised.

All I could do was just nod.

"Thank you, Chiron", I said and the connection broke.

"We have to hurry, Annabeth", Thalia said. "It's almost three o'clock! We're going to miss the bus to the next station!"

We darted out of the lavatory and into our compartment, where the guys were still fast asleep.

"Errrmmmph..." Nico said when we tried to shake him up. We tried the same maneuver on Grover and Percy too, but none of the boys woke up. It was time to take it to a higher level. Thalia grabbed both Percy's and Grover's ankles and pulled them off the bench. I did the same to Nico. They instantly woke up, shaking their heads. Thalia and I grinned at them.

"Come on, boys. Make yourselves useful", Thalia ordered. "It's time to change the train."

From the Staunton station we took a bus to the Clifton Forge station, from where the next train would depart. It would take us to Crawfordsville Indiana via Charleston, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

The bus ride was quiet. The boys drifted back to sleep as soon as their asses hit the seats. I thought about my dream. Thalia tried to distract me with more questions about me and Percy, but soon remembered the second part of my dream and shut up. I was left alone with my thoughts.

I was shattered. The oracle had said that one of us would die on this trip and if my dream was to believe, it would be Percy... My Percy... My dear Seaweed Brain. I couldn't let it happen. I couldn't lose him. Not now. I had to prevent it from happening.

The ride didn't take long, just about fifteen minutes. Then we just jumped onto another train. This train wasn't as empty as the last one had been, but we managed to find us an empty compartment. I suppose Thalia and I had seemed a bit silent, because as soon as the train started moving, Percy asked:

"What's up with you, girls? You seem so... quiet?" He looked a bit concerned.

When he'd asked us what's wrong, Nico and Grover started to look at us with concern in their eyes.

"Yeah, you've been like the dead for the past hour!" Grover said. "No offense, Nico", he added quickly.

"None taken", Nico smiled.

I glanced at Thalia. She nodded.

"Well... I had this dream", I started to tell them.

"Uh-oh, this doesn't sound good", Grover squeaked.

I told them the whole story. I saw their expressions change from concern into anxiety and eventually into pure terror. After I'd finished the story, I was feeling just as awful as I had when I'd told Thalia. I tried not to show it. I didn't want them to pity me. I was strong. It might've not worked, because as soon as I stopped talking, Percy, who sat next to me wrapped his arms around me in comfort. I felt like crying right there and right then, but I fought against it.

"Don't worry, Wise Girl", he said. "It'll be okay. Nothing will happen."

I smiled and pulled back from Percy. He'd called me Wise Girl again. It used to irritate me, but now I found it relaxing. We were such close friends, that we could use such names and wouldn't have to worry about someone getting offended.

"Is that a promise, Seaweed Brain?" I asked.

"Yes. Come what may, none of us will get hurt", he swore, his hand placed on his heart.

Our trip continued in a much happier atmosphere. Again we passed some amazing views. We played poker, chatted and laughed. There were times, when I didn't even remember the prophecy. It was like I'd never seen the dream. While passing Montgomery, Grover pulled out his reed pipes and started playing. We recognized the tune immediately – Angel from Montgomery. We started to sing along from the chorus.

"Wow, you've really improved your playing, Goat Boy!" Thalia commented with a smile after Grover had played the last notes of the song. Grover blushed.

"Thanks, Thalia", he smiled back at her. I could see Thalia's face go a bit pink too.

Our sleeping rhythm was completely messed up, thanks to us leaving early. When we arrived at the Crawfordsville station, it was almost 7 am and we hadn't slept at all after changing the train. We changed the train again and started the last ride to Chicago. Then the real camping would start. I was looking forward to it. It would be awesome! Apart from the possible danger and the obvious spiders nothing could spoil our camping out.

In the last train we all tried to get some sleep. Percy had almost insisted me to rest my head on his shoulder. Thalia had grinned at me when Percy had made his offer. I had grinned back at her and gladly leaned against Percy. The closeness of him had done its soothing magic and I got a good two hours of sleep.

**Percy's POV**

We got out of the train in Chicago and walked into the nearby bus station. It was hot outside again and the coolness of the station felt welcome. Thalia went to get us tickets from the ticket machine. I was so, so tired. I hadn't slept a wink. My mind was packed with thoughts. Thoughts of one person in particular – Annabeth. She'd looked so fragile while telling us about her nightmare. I just wished my promise that none of us would get hurt had made her feel better.

I'd had a thing for her since she'd saved me and Tyson, my cyclops half-brother, from the Laistrygonian dodgeball players. It was a secret. No one knew about my feelings for her, not even Grover. I wasn't sure if Annabeth's feelings matched mine though. We were just friends.

Suddenly I needed to use the bathroom. I told the others I'd be right back and went on search for the toilets. Soon enough I found them.

While washing my hands I heard someone call me.

"Percy! Perseus Jackson!" It sounded like Chiron.

I glanced around me, looking for him. And then I saw him, his face floating next to me.

"Chiron!" I was quite happy to see him. So much had happened and I could've used some good advice.

"Percy, my boy. I'm glad I reached you", he said, an urgent tone in his voice. "I need you to listen very carefully."

"Okay, Chiron. What's wrong?" As if I didn't know already. There was a lot wrong.

"I suppose Annabeth has told you all about her dream, right?" Chiron asked.

"Yeah. Anything new about it?" I asked, starting to get a bit scared.

"Yes, I suppose. I talked to Zeus. He said there's been something going on at Olympus. He wouldn't say anything more, because the gods aren't really supposed to help you with your quests, but you have to prepare for something godly", he explained. He was totally right. If there was something going on at Olympus, so bad that Zeus had mentioned it, we'd better brace ourselves.

"Okay, Chiron. But I have to go now, our bus is about to leave", I said.

"Oh, I see. Take care, Perseus. May the gods bless you all." And his face faded away.

I walked out of the toilets, back to the others, who were already getting ready for getting on the bus. I eyed everyone and then said:

"I need to talk to you."

**So this was the second chapter of my fic. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll soon be back with more!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	3. Big fights

**Hey again! I'm so, so sorry, that it took so long of me to update! I had some schoolwork to do, but now I'm back with another chapter. First of all I want to thank all of my reviewers! You've given me joy to write. Also a special thanks to Annabeth Supporter, who has given me some critique and so helped me develop my writing. But without further ado, here's the third chappie! Enjoy!**

**Thalia's POV**

We were starting to get a bit worried, when it took so long for Percy to get out of the bathroom. The bus was about to leave in five minutes and there wasn't a sign of him. We were gathering up our stuff so we'd be ready to go when Percy would come and then he showed up, not a minute too early. Boys, you always had to wait for them. One good thing about running with the hunters – you never had to wait for boys. He walked to us, eyed us all and said in an urgent tone:

"I need to talk to you."

We climbed into the bus and went straight for the back seats. There we could talk in peace.

"So... What's going on?" Nico asked Percy the moment we'd sat down.

"Well, just when I was done with my business..." he started.

"Do you _seriously_ think we want to hear about you using the toilet, Seaweed Brain? On with the important stuff!" Annabeth interrupted him.

"I was just coming to that, so shut up and listen!" he snapped and continued.

"So yeah... I was washing my hands and got an Iris message from Chiron."

"Why did he I-message _you?_" asked Annabeth. "He said he'd be in touch with _me!_ This is my quest after all! _I_ got the prophecy!" She sounded really irritated. But Percy was annoyed too, now that Annabeth had interrupted him again.

"Do you want to hear what Chiron had to say or not, Wise Girl?" he asked, his voice full of ice.

For a second it looked like Annabeth would start a fight, but instead she shut her mouth. Percy continued:

"He told me that he'd been in touch with Zeus, who had said there was something going on on Olympus, but he wouldn't say exactly what."

We were shocked. If there was something big going on, we'd better be ready. Oh, shit! My camping plans were about to be ruined by yet another problem of the gods.

None of us made a sound, until the silence grew so heavy, that Grover started to nibble on his shirt. I eyed the others. Annabeth was playing with her necklace, Nico was staring at his hands. Percy stared at us.

"Come on!" he said.

"We have to think about something! There's something going on and we've got a proph..."

"_I'_ve got a prophecy, Seaweed Brain", Annabeth snapped. "And I'm trying to make a plan here, so stop whining." She started to draw random patterns on the back of the seat in front of her.

I hoped that she and Percy would stop fighting. I really didn't want our camping out to be ruined by their arguing too. The quest was inevitable, so that would definitely do something to our trip, but with them arguing I probably would go completely bananas.

Annabeth didn't talk much during our ride to Shawnee. She was apparently trying to make a plan. I wasn't sure how she could plan anything, when we didn't even know what we were up against, but that didn't seem to keep her from planning. The boys and I were talking, playing poker and sometimes we tried to entertain ourselves with a staring contest. I always won, thanks to my electric blue eyes. I knew I could look very scary. Although we tried to act normal, the atmosphere was uneasy, our minds packed with thoughts. What was the strange place Annabeth had seen in her dream? Who was going to die? What in the name of Hades was going on at Olympus? Why wouldn't my father tell more about it? We had to find out.

We got out of the bus at the edge of the Shawnee National Forest. Everyone had calmed down a bit on the ride, although Annabeth was still in her thoughts. I'd have to talk with her later. Then again, it would be a suicide mission; Annabeth would kill me if I interrupted her planning.

"So..." Grover turned to face me. "Where to, Thalia? Lead the way."

I put my backpack on. The others followed my advice.

"Alright, heroes and a satyr! Follow me!" I announced. Grover frowned at me, but I just smiled.

**Annabeth's POV**

I was unspeakably mad. It was _my_ quest! I had finally got a quest of my own and PERCY got all the first hand information! Arrgh! I was so, so mad at him for that. And at Chiron too! Why in Hades he'd told Percy but not me? He said he'd get in touch with me. Well, there was nothing I could do about it now. All I could do was make a plan. What were we going to do? I started to doodle patterns on the back of the seat in front of me. Was it really necessary of the others to make so much noise? I was even more irritated.

I was relieved when the bus stopped and we jumped out of it to face the gate, which led into the forest. We threw our backpacks on our shoulders and Thalia started to lead us down the path. The forest was amazing! No wonder she'd liked the place. It almost made me forget that I was angry with Percy and Chiron. I caught up with Thalia, who was on the lead.

"Hey, Annabeth. Are you ready to talk like normal people, huh?" she teased.

"Yeah well now that I have a decent plan..." I answered her. She nudged me on my shoulder playfully.

"Okay, Wise Girl. But strategies aside now. It's camping time!" She started to hum a tune, which I recognized as a song by her favorite band, Green Day.

I looked at my friend. I hadn't realized before how much she'd changed after she'd joined the hunters. When I'd met her (and Luke, but I really tried not to remember him being there. It still hurt) she had been so... well... rebellious. Her appearance had matched her personality so well with all those badges on her jacket and everything. Now she seemed much more calm. She was in peace with herself and the world around her. Yet she was just the same as she was back then. Funny.

I was woken from my thoughts by a sudden cry. It sounded like a crow or something, but much, much bigger. And the source of it wasn't far. The five of us gathered together, all with a dumbfounded expression on their face.

"Whoa! What the Hades was that?" Percy wondered. "If you don't mind my choice of words, Nico."

"Not at all", Nico said.

Grover was trembling like mad. His eyes had turned to slits like a goat's. He was eyeing his reed pipes as though he might soon start eating them.

"Do you smell anything, Grover? Monsters?" Percy asked. Grover sniffed the air.

"No... I don't smell anything weird", he said shaking his head.

"I don't think we should stay here", I said. It was no use just standing there. We had to get moving.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Annabeth", Thalia agreed, but as a precaution, she opened her shield, Aegis. Percy copied her and we started creeping forward.

It was quiet. The only thing I could hear was the rasping sound coming from our feet and the sound of Grover's clattering teeth. We couldn't risk talking. Although Grover didn't smell anything unusual, there was something in these woods that made a heck of a noise and that couldn't be good.

Suddenly Thalia stopped. She waved us to go down and closer to her. We crawled to her. She put a finger on her lips and pointed at something behind the shrubbery, of which we were under. I tried to see what she was pointing at, but couldn't see anything. Behind the bushes was a small clearing lined with great oak trees. Nothing freaky. Thalia was glancing around. Maybe she'd lost the thing she thought she'd seen.

Then we heard the screeching noise again. We scanned the area. The source of the noise was close.

Behind us.

We turned around and faced the monster. The first thing we saw was its gigantic beak. It shined in different shades of copper and the last thing I wanted was to feel how sharp it was. The monster's head was covered with golden feathers. I would've considered its head beautiful if it weren't for the fact that it was facing us and it was probably hungry. Then I noticed that something about the creature wasn't quite right. When its head was one of an eagle (AND it had enormous wings with shiny gold feathers), it had the body of a lion – a griffin.

"Holy mother of Chaos!" Grover yelled and we all ran for it.

The griffin charged at Percy, its wings flapping wildly as it let out another cry of pure rage. Percy had uncapped Riptide and struck at the monster's paw. The sword cut a bleeding wound on it, but that just made the griffin angrier. The monster charged again, now Grover as its goal. Grover let out a frightened bla-ha-haa and ran out of its way. Too bad, that a tree had grown just on Grover's way. We heard a sickening 'CRACK' and Grover was lying on the ground, blood dripping out of his nose. The griffin was striding toward him, a feral snarl erupting from its throat. We had to act. _I_ had to act. I put on my invisibility cap and took my bronze knife, which I always carry with me, wherever I go (thank gods for that). I ran towards the monster and threw my knife at it. It hit just where I'd wanted it to; it sunk deep into the griffin's hip.

The monster let out another cry and turned to see who'd hurt it. Thalia used the opportunity and with one well-planned shot the griffin dissolved in golden smoke.

Nico was the first to reach Grover. Thalia, Percy and me ran after him. Grover was still lying on the ground, unconscious.

"It's okay", Nico told us as we all gathered around him. "His life aura is strong."

As soon as he'd said that, we heard Grover's muffled voice:

"Ouch. My nose hurts."

We laughed at him and picked him up. He had needles, leaves and dirt all over his clothes and blood was dripping from his nose, but apart from that he was okay.

"What in the name of Hades was that thing?" Percy asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Wasn't it quite _obvious_?" I asked him. I still hadn't gotten over the fact, that Chiron had told him and not me.

"Well I'm sorry, Wise Girl, for the fact that I'm not as smart as some daughters of Athena around here", Percy snapped back at me.

"Could you please stop fighting?" Grover asked and for his sake I dropped it. Instead I said:

"It was a griffin."

"A griffin? Wow! They have 3000 attack power and 2500 defense!" Nico mused. He still hadn't gotten over Mythomagic.

"Yeah, whatever", said Thalia. "But aren't they supposed to guard treasures and stuff?"

She was right. Griffins were normally known as guardians of treasure and the divine. What could one have been doing here? In the Shawnee National Forest!

"I don't like the feeling of this", said Grover. The wimp!

"Hey, come on!" Percy said. "We've done with him for good."

Thalia seemed thoughtful. I was pretty sure she was thinking exactly the same thing as I; why was a griffin here? What was he guarding? Then all of a sudden Thalia's expression brightened.

"Guess what, people?" she said.

"What, person?" Nico sneered. Thalia poked him in the ribs.

"We've arrived in our destination!" she then announced. We all cheered.

Making the camp didn't take long – Thalia had made a camp so many times while running with the hunters. She'd got a tent as a gift from lady Artemis.

"The fabric is magical. Nothing can get through it, except celestial bronze. It will protect us from monsters", Thalia explained. Apart from super durable, the fabric was also beautiful. It was deep blue silk (though reinforced with magic) with a hunting bow embroidered on it.

"Errm..." Nico said, when we'd put the tent up. "Are we all going to sleep in one tent? I mean, boys and girls in the _same?_" he asked, his voice unsure.

"Aww, is little Nico afraid of girl germs?" Thalia teased. Grover, Percy and I laughed at him.

"No! I'm not... STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" he tried his hardest to get us quiet. No way, Jose!

The first evening at our own little camp was jubilant. We set a fire and grilled some corn. Percy and Thalia dropped theirs in the flames and we watched them as they carbonized there. The rest of us followed their advice and gave our daily offering to the gods. Grover played his pipes and we sang campfire songs and grilled marshmallows... and watched them fall in the flames and carbonize there. Grover tried to grill one of his cans, but according to him, it didn't taste as good grilled as it did raw (can you really use the word 'raw' of a tin can?).

We stayed up late, at least it felt late to me. It was summer, so it was still bright when we started to get a bit drowsy. We had arranged our sleeping bags in the tent so, that Percy and Nico were on the sides and Thalia, Grover and me were in the middle. Thalia had, on purpose, of course, left the place next to Percy for me. She'd obviously forgotten I was mad at him at the moment. We snuggled into our sleeping bags and soon all I heard was the snoring sound of my friends.

I couldn't sleep. My mind was still filled of thoughts of our quest. I felt like there was a very important piece missing and I couldn't find it anywhere. Whenever I was even close, it slipped away. It was maddening. I needed some fresh air. I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and out of the tent. It was chilly outside. The tent was not only protective, but it also kept us warm. While searching for some wood for the fire, I'd found out that very close to our little clearing was this cliff with an amazing view from it. I thought, that it would be a great place to think. Grand landscapes inspired me. I walked through the bushes and undergrowth until I reached the edge of the cliff. I saw a medium sized rock and sat there. It was quiet and beautiful. The forest was peaceful. I could hear a river somewhere near. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh air and cleansing my brain. Suddenly I heard a crack coming from behind me. I jumped up, turned around, took my knife out of my sleeve and pointed it at the intruder. It was Percy.

"Whoah! Calm down, you lunatic!" he cried out. I lowered my knife and put it back in my sleeve.

"Well sorry. I couldn't have known who you were", I said, my voice as cold as ice. Again, he had interrupted my thinking. Percy looked resigned.

"Please don't be mad at me, Annabeth", he pleaded. "I've come to apologize. I know Chiron should've told you about the little details and I don't know why he didn't. But please don't take it out on me. We're friends, right?"

Wow, Percy just apologized. Fresh forest air had done him good. I stood there, saying nothing.

"Right?" he repeated and made a puppy face. Aww, he was so cute! I'd been so mad at him I hadn't even remembered how cute he could be.

"Apology accepted", I said. His face brightened.

"So... You couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"Yeah. I needed to think", I told him.

"Oh, did I interrupt your thoughts?" he sounded apologetic. "'Cause if I did, I suppose I should let you continue..."

"No, no, no, it's okay. You can stay", I said. I didn't want him to leave. I guess, that deep inside I had missed him while not talking to him. He sat on the rock next to me.

"Wow, this is really something", he said, marveling the view, that spread in front of us.

"I know, right", I smiled at him. I was glad I could share the beautiful landscape with him. He smiled back.

"Annabeth..." he said.

"Yeah?"

A moment of silence. Then his smile grew even wider and he said:

"It's good to have you back." Then he pulled me into a hug. He was warm. I hadn't even realized how cold I was until he'd pressed against me, the heat of his body radiating on me. After a few seconds he pulled away and I felt a bit chilly again. I shivered.

"Aww, are you cold, Wise Girl?" he grinned at me, my nickname rolling from his lips softly, just the way I liked it.

"Yeah", I admitted.

"We should get back to the tent. If the others have woken up, they must be worried", he said and raised his arm.

"Come here", he said.

I gladly let him wrap his arm around me.

"Cold anymore?" he asked.

"Nope", I said. He grinned.

"Haha, that's because of me. I'm sooo hot!" he laughed. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yeah, right, Seaweed brain, the godling of modesty! I said, rolling my eyes at him. He laughed and held his arm tighter around me. We walked to the tent. I zipped the door open, peeped inside and almost had a heart attack.

"Where, I want to know exactly, _where_ have you been!" Thalia was sitting in her sleeping bag, her eyes gleaming electrically in the dark. She was furious. "And just like your disappearance weren't bad enough, Percy is also... Oh!" Percy had pushed his head inside the tent too. Thalia's expression changed from anger into curiosity.

"My, my. I see some people have been having a midnight walk", Thalia chuckled.

"Yeah", grinned Percy. "And oh, the time we had! You missed one hell of a walk, Pinecone Face", he teased. Thalia jumped at him, saying something about calling names and Seaweed Brain and they started wrestling playfully among the sleeping bags and the sleeping Nico and Grover. They woke up with a start, when Thalia threw Percy on top of them.

"Aargh! Get your ass off my face!" Nico yelled. Grover had been so frightened of Percy, that he had jumped on his feet, hit his head on the ceiling and fallen on his backside. I watched the comedy laughing my ass off. Percy saw me laughing in the corner and stopped wrestling with Thalia.

"Hey, I sense there is someone, who hasn't joined the fight yet!" he exclaimed, grabbed me by my waist and threw me on the tent floor.

"Hands off me, Seaweed Brain!" I giggled, while swinging my hands in the air, trying to get a hold of Percy. He didn't obey me, but instead he waved Thalia, Nico and Grover around us and started tickling me. The others helped him. I was rolling on the messed up sleeping bags laughing, water flowing from my eyes. I was kicking and hitting my friends, trying to escape their tickling fingers. Eventually I was laughing so hard, that I couldn't breathe. That was the point when Percy ordered the others to stop. I lay on the floor, catching my breath. The others were giving each other high-fives. They turned at me. I sat up.

"So, are we even now?" I asked.

"Errm..." Percy thought theatrically. "Yeah, I guess we're even", he decided and shook hands with me. Thalia was sitting behind Percy and she winked at me. I grinned.

"What time is it, Percy?" Grover asked. Percy looked at his watch.

"It's two am", he said.

Knowing the time made us feel tired. We'd been up almost twenty hours straight. We decided it was time to hit the sac. We snuggled back in our sleeping bags, said each other good night and I closed my eyes. Before I fell asleep I could've sworn I felt a warm hand brushing the hair off my face.


	4. The night and fright

**Helloooo, dear readers! I couldn't sleep last night and so I started to wright and this is what came out of it. I don't have much to say, so I won't hold you back anymore – here you go!**

**Percy's POV**

I lay in my sleeping bag. My eyes were closed. I was listening. I heard Grover huff quietly and Thalia mumble something unintelligible in her sleep. But above all others I was listening to the calm breathing of the girl sleeping next to me. Annabeth. My heart beat in rythm with her breath. It hadn't been until the moment she'd accepted my apology, when I'd realized how much I really liked her. The way I felt, when I just lay there, listening to her... I can't even describe it. I opened my eyes and propped myself up on my elbows, looking at Annabeth. A few strands of her hair were on her face. I gently brushed them away. Her skin was smooth and warm. Her lips parted, a gentle sigh escaping out of her mouth. The sound of her sigh gave me goosebumps. It was so beautiful. She shifted, facing me now, still asleep. Good, I hadn't woken her up when I'd swept the hair off her face. Annabeth sighed again, her fingers gripping the edge of her sleeping bag. She was definately dreaming. I wondered what she was dreaming of. The sigh had sounded wistful. I was still looking at her face. Her beautiful, calm face, lined with blonde curls. I fought the urge to touch her face again. The feeling of her skin under my hand had been extraordinary. I wanted to feel her skin again. I was just about to stroke her cheek with my index finger, when she mumbled in her sleep. I didn't catch the words. Then she spoke again.

"Per...cy..." Annabeth said and sighed again. She gripped her sleeping bag tighter in her fist.

I couldn't believe my ears. She'd said my name in her sleep. She'd been dreaming about me. Possibly. That might have been a coincidence. But still, she'd sighed my name. Her voice had had the same wistful tone in it when she'd said that. The urge to touch her face grew even bigger. Then, suddenly, her expression changed. Annabeth frowned, her expression worried. What could've happened in her dream? She whimpered quietly, her face changed from worry into agony. Then I heard her sob. She was sobbing in her sleep, now tossing a bit. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. I could tell from her state that she was having a very painful dream. I wasn't sure what to do. Was I supposed to wake her up from her nightmare? Should I? The answer became clear, when Annabeth, now clearly crying started talking again. The tone wasn't wistful anymore. It was scared and painful.

"No... No! Please... Percy!" she cried out. Yup, she'd been dreaming about me, alright.

I didn't think, I just acted. I lifted Annabeth on my lap and held her there, whispering her name in her ear.

"Shh, Annabeth, it's okay. I'm here. No need to worry", I told her. She seemed to calm down a bit. I wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep, but all the same, she let me hold her there, in my arms. Then, suddenly she startled and went quiet. She had woken up. Annabeth looked up at me. She seemed a little confused.

"Percy?" she said, blinking her eyes as if she didn't believe her eyes. Then she started crying again.

"Oh, Percy!" she clung to me, her face buried in my chest. I held her there. I have to admit, I was shocked. How did I end up here in the first place? I was so dumbfounded, that I didn't even think about how wonderful it was to have her in my arms. The only thing I cared about was, that she was upset and I had to make her feel better. I stroked her tangled blonde hair.

"It's okay, Annabeth", I whispered. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real, it wasn't real..."

I started rocking her from side to side, still whispering soothing words in her ear. Annabeth relaxed, her sobs becoming more quiet now.

"You should get back to sleep now", I told her after holding her there for a while. She had calmed down. She looked up at me, her eyes pink from crying, tears still glistening in them.

"Percy?" she asked.

"What?"

"Could you... errm... still hold me for a while, please?" she asked quietly.

"Of course", I told her. How could I ever refuse?

She nestled against my chest and closed her eyes. Her breath was still a bit uneven, an occasional sob or hiccup breaking the rhythm. I rested my chin on her head and started rocking her again. Then, just out of nowhere I started crooning a song. I wasn't sure why it had popped into my mind so suddenly, but I knew where it had come from. It was from one of my mom's favorite movies. She'd sung the song when I was a kid and I still heard her singing it sometimes. I knew the words by heart. As I sang, Annabeth relaxed in my arms. Her body became limp. She was asleep. Still I held her there and continued to sing. When the song ended, I just started it again. And every word I sang, I sang for her and her only:

"Never knew I could feel like this

Like I've never seen the sky before

I want to vanish inside your kiss

Every day I love you more and more

Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings

Telling me to give you everything

Seasons may change winter to spring

But I'll love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may

I will love you until my dying day

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace

Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste

It all revolves around you

And there's no mountain too high no river too wide

Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side

Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide

But I'll love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may

I will love you until my dying day"

**Thalia's POV**

I woke up well slept in the morning. I stretched and looked at Grover. He was lying in his sleeping bag, his eyes half open.

"Morning, Goat Boy", I said.

"Hey", he answered.

I looked at my other side and was momentarily stunned. Annabeth's sleeping bag had disappeared. And so had Annabeth. I didn't have to look for them for long – Annabeth was sleeping in the corner, Percy's arms wrapped around her.

"Hey, Grover! Check this out!" I told him. He propped himself up on his elbows.

"Aww, that's just adorable!" he mused. "Hey Nico! You've got to see this. Wake up!" Grover shook Nico.

"What is it?" Nico mumbled, still half asleep. He rose slowly. When he saw Percy and Annabeth, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Wow! I wonder what has happened while we were asleep", he said. We all snickered and got out of the tent. It was pretty cold outside. We jumped to keep ourselves warm and I searched for the ingredients for our breakfast (oatmeal and sandwiches) in my backpack. Grover and Nico wanted to help me, so I asked them to make the oatmeal. It turned out as grey goo. Well done, boys. Well... at least we had the sandwiches. I put a fire on and the boys and I sat around it, eating our breakfast in silence.

"So, Thalia?" Grover asked between munches. "What are we going to do, now that we're here?"

That wasn't something I'd given any thought at all. What exactly _were_ we going to do? I'd been so enthusiastic about going, that I hadn't thought about the activities. Oops. Well, there was always stuff to do in the woods. We just had to wait for Percy and Annabeth to get up. Then we could decide what to do first. I looked at the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day, I could tell. Zeus as my father, I was good with weather forecasts. I suppose if I tried hard enough, I could even learn to control the weather.

"Morning, folks!" Percy crawled out of the tent, rubbing his eyes. His hair was tangled and it stuck out in every direction. He walked to us and sat on a stump of a tree next to the fire. Nico, Grover and I smiled intentionally widely at him.

"A very good morning to you, sir!" I bowed. He looked suspicious.

"What's up with you three?" he asked, when we just grinned at him.

"Oh, nothing!" Grover snickered.

"Yeah, we were just..." Nico started, but stopped, when we saw Annabeth creep out of our tent too.

Nico, Grover and I glanced at each other and burst into laughter.

Annabeth looked at us, then at Percy, her expression confused.

"What is this?" she asked Percy, pointing at us.

"No idea", he shrugged. We managed to keep our faces straight with effort.

"Morning, Annabeth!" I greeted her. "I suppose you slept well, huh?" Grover and Nico giggled.

"Yeah, splendidly", she answered, ignoring the boys. She sat on one of the logs around the fire and grabbed herself a sandwich.

"Oh, by the way, Percy", Annabeth said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks", she smiled at Percy.

"No problem", he said.

"I don't want to be nosy or anything..." Grover said politely. "But what is going on with you two?"

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other and blushed.

"Nothing much", said Percy.

"I just had another nightmare, that's all", Annabeth continued.

"Oh, okay", Grover said, but I wasn't satisfied with their answers. I had to try to speak with Annabeth.

Now that we were all awake, we started planning what we were going to do that day. Annabeth gave me a dirty look when I told I hadn't made any plans for our stay.

"I suggest we go investigate the surrounding area", Percy said.

"Good idea", said Annabeth. I eyed her.

"I just think we should. Nothing funny in it!" she protested.

"Sure, sure", I nodded.

"And you two are right, we should search the area, just in case there's something dangerous... or interesting", said Nico, adding in the last two words, because Grover looked scared about the possibility of something dangerous lurking over here.

"It's also going to be a beautiful day and I wouldn't mind just lying somewhere sunny and perhaps play some poker", I announced.

"Ooh! I definitely want to beat Nico again!" Annabeth got excited. "And I know a perfect place for sunbathing!" she continued.

"You mean the cliff? It's awesome!" Percy exclaimed.

"What cliff? Where have you found a cliff, Annabeth?" Nico asked.

"You'll see", Annabeth grinned at him.

We decided to go exploring first and after lunch we'd put up our very own poker party. I was surprised of the fact, that Percy really enjoyed poker. I had thought he hated it, that it reminded him of his ex-stepfather, Smelly-Gabe.

In any case, we took our weapons with us, just in case we'd run into monsters and went to investigate.

"Yell if you find anything interesting!" Nico told us and we separated.

I occasionally ran into Annabeth and Grover, as they were exploring the same area as I, but mostly I ran alone. I felt at home as I ran through the undergrowth and glancing behind every bush. We did stuff like this every day with the hunters.

I'd run for at least half an hour when I heard Percy yelling:

"Thalia! Annabeth! Grover! You've got to see this! Come on!"

Oh my gods, Percy had found something! I darted towards his voice. What could he have found? I saw Percy waving at me. He was standing on a large rock with Nico and Annabeth was running towards them from the opposite direction.

"Hey, Thalia!" I jumped. Grover had caught up with me. Together we ran to the others.

"Percy! What have you found?" I asked, breathing heavily. I had forgotten to breathe while I ran. I'd been so excited.

"Come on, I'll show you!" Percy motioned us to follow. He walked through a thick shrubbery and we followed his lead.

"_Di immortales!_" Grover breathed.

We had come to the most extraordinary place. There were these massive rock formations, like pillars all over the place and some of them looked as some rocks had just been piled upon one another. All of us, except Percy stared at the place in awe. Percy was grinning at us.

"Told you, this is awesome, huh?" he asked smugly.

**Annabeth's POV**

I couldn't say anything. My gods, the place was beautiful! It felt like there was something divine lingering there AND I felt like I'd been there before. What _was_ this place? We walked between the rock formations, admiring them. Soon we found the center of the mysterious place and we faced a large singular rock, with a bronze plate nailed on it. We walked closer. The plate was covered in moss. Nico went to wipe it off.

"Hey! There's writing on this thing!" Nico shrieked. "It's in Ancient Greek! Listen:

'You have entered the Garden of the Gods. Stranger, beware of the Hundred-Handed Ones'"

"What the heck?" Thalia asked.

"I got the Garden of the Gods, alright, but _'Hundred-Handed Ones?_' I beg your pardon", Grover wondered.

"The Garden of the Gods..." I mused. That would explain the feeling of divine forces here. But why did I have the feeling I had been here before... Then I realized.

"Oh, _shit!_" I mouthed.

The others turned to look at me.

"What is it, Annabeth?" Thalia walked to me. The others came behind her.

"I have been here before", I whispered.

"What are you talking about, silly? Seriously, you're freaking me out!" Percy demanded.

"I have been here before", I repeated.

"Annabeth, what is it?" asked Grover.

"Thalia, do you remember when I told you about my dream?" I asked my best friend.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Do you remember exactly where I saw the Oracle sit?"

"Oh... my... _gods!_" Thalia breathed.

"Ooooh, n-n-no!" Grover stuttered.

They had grasped the concept. The Oracle had sat on that very rock. The weird rocks stacked upon one another were these pillars. Now I understood perfectly. _This_ was the piece I had been looking for. We all jumped as we suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from beneath our feet. Something evil was dwelling here. And we had woken it up.

"Nico..." Percy said.

"What?" asked Nico.

"I'm starting to think that reading the plate wasn't the best idea in the world", Percy said, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm with Percy", Grover mumbled, nibbling on his shirt.

"Let's get back to our camp", Thalia ordered and we ran again.

At the camp, we made some lunch, talking about the Garden of the Gods. I was feeling guilty. Why hadn't I seen it before Nico had read the damned plate on that damned rock? I sat on one of the logs around the fire Thalia had put up again, thinking hard. I needed a new plan now. _We_ needed a plan. Percy came to sit next to me, wrapping his arm around me.

"Don't blame yourself, Wise Girl", he said.

"I can't help it. I could've prevented this from happening if I only had realized it earlier..." I mumbled.

"None of us thinks you're the one to blame, so don't you even dare to think so", said Thalia and offered me a portion of stew.

"It was my fault really. I shouldn't have read the plate", Nico said, looking at his hands.

"The important question isn't who's fault it was, but what are we going to do now? Something is stirring over here. Are we going to stay here and see what it is?" asked Thalia.

"I'm quite sure all of this is a part of the prophecy coming true", I pondered. "So there's no idea in running away, because we'd just come back in one way or another."

"Annabeth's right", Percy confirmed.

"Yeah, I suppose", Thalia said. "Let's stay. Now, Annabeth, where did you mention you had found the sunbathing cliff?"

We went to the cliff, where Percy and I had made up.

"Wow, look at the view!" Grover was amazed.

"Say, Annabeth, could this have been the destination of your midnight walk last night?" Thalia grinned.

"What midnight walk?" Nico said, astonished.

"Just forget about it, okay?" Percy told him.

Then, suddenly the air shimmered, something materializing there. Or someone.

"Good afternoon, heroes", said the man, who'd just come there out of thin air. He had a dark grey beard, grey eyes and was wearing a pinstriped suit.

"Lord Zeus", Grover bowed.

"Rise, satyr", Zeus told him.

"What gives us the honor, my Lord?" I asked.

"It's..." he hesitated. "It's about your prophecy."

Uh-oh, I didn't have any good feelings of this.

"What about it, sir?" I asked.

"I don't know that much of it, but I know someone, who does. Let me summon him here. I ask you not to be frightened. He's... errrm... quite unusual", the Lord of the Sky told us. He snapped his fingers and the air shimmered again. In a couple of seconds, there was a man standing next to Zeus, but boy, oh boy, what kind of man! He was extremely muscular, _massive_, but that didn't make him that unusual. The main weirdness was that he had numerous heads and arms sprouting from his massive shoulders. I could count up till 44 until I lost count. Grover yelped.

"Fear not, children", the freaky man said. "I have come to warn you about what dwells in these woods. My name is Briareios."

Briareios! Hearing the name made the bells ring in my head. But it couldn't be...

"Familiar, huh?" Briareios asked me.

"Well... yes, sir. Is it possible that you were..."

"The Briareios, who helped the gods defeat the titans? Yes, that's me."

The others' jaws dropped.

"So... errm... Who are you exactly?" Percy asked carefully.

Briareios cleared his throat and then said:

"I am the son of Gaia and Ouranos."

"You mean like... you're a brother of Kronos?" Thalia gasped.

"Yes, although I'm not proud of that relationship", Briareios answered. "But now, young godlings, I need you to listen very carefully. We don't have much time."

**Here was today's chapter of Come what may. Reviews are appreciated! **

**Luv,**

**AC**


	5. The quest begins

**Hey, it's me again! Wow, I've had the coolest day at school EVAR! Our Finnish teacher took us to an ice cream bar. Haha. We only have one day of school left. Party time! And to celebrate, I have a heck of a long chapter for you, dear people! Enjoy!**

**Percy's POV**

When the giant-mutant...thing had materialized in front of us, I really thought it was a prank from Zeus. Or it could've been if Zeus had any sense of humor. Everyone knows he's quite humorless. He takes his job seriously. But in any case, right then, it felt so unnatural. I mean, Zeus of all people, with a _titan?_ Please, give me a break.

Anyway, the titan, who'd introduced himself as Briareios, told us he'd come to warn us about something. We took him and Zeus to our camp, so we could sit down comfortably. There Briareios told us his story.

"How much do you children know about the big war between the titans and the gods?" he asked us.

"I only know, that Zeus made Kronos spit up his siblings and then the Olympians defeated the titans and Zeus sent them to Tartarus", Nico said.

"Well, I guess I'll have to start from the beginning", Briareios said and began:

"I have two twin brothers, Kottos and Gyes. When we were in our mother Gaia's womb, our father, Ouranos would not let us to be born; whenever we attempted to get out, he would push us back inside. It wasn't until my brother, Kronos," he flinched, "attacked and wounded our father and so setting us free. He'd helped us, but he feared our strength and was jealous of our _beauty_," he chuckled, "so he imprisoned me, Kottos and Gyes under the earth. When the war between the gods and the titans took part, Zeus here" he patted Zeus' back, "brought us back into the light and gave us nectar and ambrosia to renew our vitality. We joined the Olympians in the war against the titans, against our own brother. After ten years of war, Zeus let loose all his fury. The earth and the heavens trembled under his thunderbolts. At that moment, Kottos, Gyes and I bombarded the titans with three-hundred boulders that buried them, thus ending the war. We became heroes."

Briareios paused for a while, then continued:

"Long after the war with the titans, Thetis summoned me to Mount Olympus to keep Hera, Poseidon and Athena from binding Zeus. When I ascended Olympus, I simply sat beside Zeus and my fierce presence deflected all thoughts of aggression."

"The gods invited me to stay at Olympus and soon I was wedded to Kymopolea, the daughter of Poseidon. After that, things started stirring. Kottos and Gyes became jealous, when I got so much extra treatment. They joined the titans again. They wanted to repay the lack of attention to the gods. So they gathered a couple of titans and giants and attacked Olympus, attempting to ruin as many buildings as possible. Of course, the gods captured them before they'd managed to cause prominent harm. Nemesis, the spirit of divine vengeance, imprisoned Kottos and Gyes under the earth, in the same place, where Kronos had imprisoned me and my brothers many years ago. In the place, where we'd thrown the boulders and defeated the titans. The gods marked the place and bound it with a spell. We were in peace again, until we got an alert from Nemesis, who was in charge of security in the prison of Kottos and Gyes. She told us, that Kottos and Gyes had started moving, they were reviving. Still we were confident; there just wasn't a possibility, that someone would enter the prison, break the spell and let Kottos and Gyes loose, when it only appeared to the Olympians and their offspring, like Nemesis. Oh, boy, how wrong we were", Briareios eyed us all.

I was starting to get the hang of this. The Garden of the Gods was the place where Nemesis had imprisoned Briareios' brothers, I'd been able to find it, because I was the son of Poseidon, we'd entered the damned place and broken the spell. How simple was that?

Briareios continued:

"Now, a bunch of godlings have entered the prison of Kottos and Gyes, more commonly known as 'The Garden of the Gods.' In twenty-four hours, Kottos and Gyes will be vital enough to break out of their prison and Olympus will be in trouble again. The case wouldn't be so difficult, if we could just invite Nemesis to seal the Garden again, but there is one small problem", Briareios said.

"And what is that, sir?" Thalia asked.

"You see, Nemesis is the spirit of divine retribution against those, who succumb to hubris and he can only do something to those, who actually have succumbed to it. When my brothers attacked Olympus, they thought very much of themselves. So much that it was considered acting under the effect of hubris", Briareios explained. "Now Nemesis can't do anything before Kottos and Gyes tangle with hubris again and that could be too late."

When Briareios had mentioned hubris, Annabeth startled. Hubris, the extreme haughtiness and arrogance, was her fatal flaw. I'd seen it in action, when Annabeth had tried to save Luke by taking the weight of the sky from Atlas. She still had reminders of that incident; there was a streak of grey in her blonde hair.

"Why can't you, Lord Zeus do anything?" Nico demanded.

"You all know pretty well, that the Olympians can't help heroes with their quests", said Zeus, looking particularly at Nico. "That's why I can't do anything. It is miss Chase's quest after all."

"Well, what can we do then?" Annabeth asked, eyeing both Briareios and Zeus.

Zeus looked at us all and said:

"You must find Dike, the goddess of order and justice. She'll be able to condemn Kottos and Gyes back in their prison."

"Where will we find her?" I asked, but Zeus raised his hand.

"We aren't allowed to help you more than this", he said. "We'll leave you now. Just remember: you only have one day, until the titan brothers will be free."

Briareios and Zeus started shimmering. We closed our eyes, because none of us wanted to be blinded from the light of them disappearing in thin air.

When we opened our eyes again, we were alone.

**Annabeth's POV**

Holy shit.

We had set two titans with numerous heads and arms free. Why did it always have to be us? Just why? Thalia was so upset.

"I'd planned this to be the coolest thing ever", she said.

"Hey, keep your chin up, Thals", Grover tried to cheer her up.

"Yeah, we'll just get this done and over with and then we can continue our camping out!" said Percy.

Thalia smiled.

"I guess you're right, Seaweed Brain", she said.

"I know, I know", Percy nodded smugly.

"But where are we going to find this Dike? Nico asked and then giggled. "Got it? _Dike!_ Hahahaa!"

"Ha ha, Nico, very funny", I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't help myself. My lips curved into a smile. Percy and Grover had joined the laughter. They were rolling on the ground, laughing their asses off. Thalia came to me. We watched the boys, amused.

"So, Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah?"

"What did actually happen last night? Between you and Percy, I mean", she asked.

"Well..." I blushed. "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk, Percy came to me and we talked things straight", I explained.

"Yeah, but what happened _after_ the 'Pillow Fight – Tent edition'?" Thalia asked.

"Oh, that", I blushed even deeper red.

"Yeah, that", Thalia grinned. She was highly amused.

"I had a nightmare again, I already told you at breakfast", I tried to avoid the question, but Thalia wasn't satisfied.

"But how did you end up sleeping in Percy's arms?" she asked. I couldn't avoid telling her anymore.

"Well, I'm not sure what had happened, but when I woke up from my dream he was holding me, whispering my name. He waited for me to calm down and then told me to go back to sleep. I was still a bit upset and his presence was making me so calm, that I asked him to hold me for a while. I guess he never let go of me", I babbled, the words coming out of my mouth a bit too quickly. Thalia could see I was nervous. Answering in Thalia's questions always made me nervous, although I tried my hardest not to show it.

"Aww, that's so _cute!_" Thalia cheered.

"What's cute?" Percy asked from behind me. The boys had stopped laughing at the funny, ambiguous name of the goddess of justice. Thalia grinned at him.

"You are, Seaweed Brain. You and this brainiac here", she said and patted my shoulder. I rolled my eyes at her. Percy, on the other hand, grinned.

"I know, right?" he said.

"Your modesty dazzles me over and over again", said Thalia.

"No-one hasn't still answered my question", reminded Nico. He was right; we only had about twenty-three hours left to find Dike and bring her back here. In other words, we were in a hurry. I started a quick planning process and in a few seconds time I had made up a pretty decent plan, which I presented to the others. It was perfectly simple: we'd travel to the closest town (Sturgis, about 20 minutes by car), go to the library, google Dike and try to figure out where she would be.

We didn't have time to waste, so we quickly gathered up our stuff (I'm quite sure we broke the world record in clearing up a camping site) and ran. We ran all the way to the bus stop. Luckily, the bus came in about ten minutes.

We got out of the bus in the center of Sturgis.

"Now, where is the library?" Grover pondered. We thought about that for a minute. Then Thalia got an idea:

"Let's ask someone!" she said.

"Okay, but who should we ask?" I asked.

"How about that one?" Nico suggested and pointed at a young woman, who was walking toward us.

"Sure, but who will ask her?" asked Percy. Thalia eyed him meaningfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Percy asked.

"I''m sure, that she'll tell you everything she knows. After all, you have to admit, you are very good-looking, Percy", Thalia chuckled.

"Well, okay, I'll go", Percy gave in. I looked at the woman, who was almost by us now. She was astonishingly beautiful. Her hair was shimmering blonde, her blue eyes were almond shaped and her makeup looked like it had been done by a makeup artist. We waited until the woman was walking past us. Then Percy opened his mouth.

"Excuse me, miss!" he said, stepping forward. The woman turned to face him.

"Yes? Do I know you?" she asked, surprised. She eyed Percy and I could tell by how she looked at him, that she was definitely impressed by Percy's looks. I felt a twinge of jealousy in the pit of my stomach.

"No, I don't think you do", said Percy. "Could you tell me, where I could find the library?"

"Library? Sure, just go along this road. It's not far from here", the woman advised. Then she did something _really_ unexpected. She said:

"I hope you'll find whatever you're looking for. It was nice to meet you, Percy." Then she winked at Percy (jealousy, jealousy, maddening jealousy) and walked away. Percy walked to us, dazzled.

"Woah! Who _was_ that girl?" asked Nico.

"I... don't know..." Percy muttered.

"How did she know your name?" Thalia wondered.

"Percy? You aren't looking that good, man. Are you feeling okay?" asked Grover.

"I'm fine..." Percy mumbled. "I was just... thinking..."

"About what? The woman?" I asked, my voice just a bit too edgy.

"Yeah... I mean no... Could it be possible, that we have just seen _Aphrodite_?" Percy asked.

"I suppose. Let's go!" I commanded. I really didn't want to think about the goddess of love talking with Percy and checking him out.

We walked along the road and, just like the woman (I refused to think it actually was Aphrodite) had said, we soon found the library. We walked in. The library was small and there weren't so much people inside, but they had a public computer and we went straight to that. Nico googled Dike. First he spelled it with a 'y' instead of 'i' and the boys got a reason to laugh again. Soon enough we found something interesting. Grover was the one to read, because none of us demigods could read fast enough.

"In the Ancient Greek culture, Dike (engl. 'Justice') was the spirit of moral order and fair judgement", Grover read. "Also known as 'Lady Justice', blah, blah, blah... Oh! There's a statue of Dike in Memphis!" he cried.

"Maybe we could find something there?" Percy wondered. "What do you say, Annabeth?" he asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, sure", I said. "Memphis, here we come!"

We chose to travel to Memphis by bus. The ride took a good four hours. Grover had scribbled the address of the place, where the statue was, on a piece of paper.

"Shel...by. Cou...ntry? No, county. Court...house. Shelby County Courthouse!" Nico read, when we jumped off the bus in the very center of Memphis.

The courthouse wasn't hard to find. We were basically facing it when we stood at the bus stop.

"Alright, guys, let's get inside!" Percy said, but Grover stiffened.

"It smells bad in here. I mean _really_ bad", he complained, smelling the air.

"Monster bad?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah." He shivered.

Oh, crap! We didn't have time for any distractions now.

"There's no time to hesitate. Let's go!" I insisted.

"Annabeth's right. We should keep going. Let's just keep our guard", said Percy. I glanced at him thankfully. Percy could be a real airhead sometimes, but when it came to quests and monsters, he was brave, yet smart. Well, not as smart as me, of course, but smart he was. And that was one of the reasons I liked him so much.

We crossed the road, which separated us from the courthouse. Grover glanced around suspiciously. I had taken my cap out of my backpack, so I could use it if I needed to. We got to the other side and climbed the stairs to the massive wooden doors of the courthouse. They were open and so we entered.

**Percy's POV**

The place was huge! We'd entered the Shelby County Courthouse. The foyer was cavernous. The floor was dark marble and there were columns here and there. There was an info desk in the corner and we headed there. There was an old lady working behind the desk. She seemed have worked in that spot for a very long time. Probably for her whole life.

"Good afternoon, children", the lady greeted us. She had wrinkles around her brown eyes and a kind smile on her face.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

Annabeth stepped forward.

"We have heard, that you have a statue of 'Lady Justice' here", she said.

"You've heard right", the info lady nodded. "Why are you interested in it?"

"School stuff", said Nico. I kicked him on the leg. Dumb shit! Was it necessary for him to open his mouth?

"But, good children! It's summer!" the lady pointed out. Yeah, that's what I had thought too.

"Summer school", Thalia mumbled.

"Oh! I see", the lady said.

"It smells _very_ bad in here", Grover whispered in my ear.

"We'd better be going now", I said. "Where did you say the statue was again?"

"I'm afraid, I can't tell you, Perseus Jackson", the lady said and stood up. Oh, shit. I should've known!

"Why can't you just let us pass?" Annabeth snapped.

"It would be nice to have some trouble on Olympus", said the lady. Her features began to change. Her eyes changed color from brown to yellow, her face was pure evil.

"The big-headed Olympians think they're so great with all their luxuries", the lady spat.

"It would teach them well if there was some disorder over there and that's why, young heroes, I can't let you go."

The lady had fully morphed now. She was a fury.

"Die, young heroes!" she screamed and attacked Annabeth, who was standing closest to her. Annabeth dodged and put her invisibility cap on. She disappeared. The fury was bothering Grover and Thalia now. Thalia had opened Aegis and Grover threw tin cans at the monster. Nico tried to get the fury's attention, but she was way above Nico's reach. I went to help him. Together we tried to jump in order to harm the monster, who was almost too close to Thalia and Grover now, trying to find a good moment to attack. Where the heck was Annabeth? Was she up to something? Did she have a plan? I didn't know. The fury dived and hit Thalia's shield so hard, that she fell. Grover yelped and threw more cans at the monster.

"Don't. You. Dare! My. Friend!" I heard him yell in rhythm with his throws.

The fury screeched and dived again. Something stopped her in mid-air. She cried and rose upwards. I supposed it was Annabeth. Way to go! Annabeth could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but when it came to fighting monsters, she rocked! Her fighting skills amazed me over and over again. That was one of the numerous reasons I liked her so much.

I saw a wound on the fury's chest. Annabeth might've stabbed her with her knife. But that wound wouldn't keep her for long. I just hoped Annabeth had a plan, because I certainly didn't have one. Nico and I kept poking the fury and eventually she turned to us. She shrieked in anger and dived at Nico. He swung his sword and hit the monster's side, cutting quite deep. She wailed in agony. I was getting confident. We could do this.

The fury attacked me now, diving quickly, tearing my shirt and rose back up. She stayed there, circling around us. We could never get her from there. What to do, what to do? I looked around for something, that could help. Then I heard a voice from behind me saying:

"Percy! You need to find some water to bring her down!"

It was Annabeth.

"Okay", I whispered. "I'll be back", I said to Nico and darted out of the fury's way, my eyes searching for a source of water.

"PERCY!" Nico yelled. I looked at him and suddenly felt the fury's talons on my shoulder. They slashed a deep cut there.

"Ah!" I cried. I watched Nico fighting the fury now. Grover ran to me.

"Are you okay, man?" he asked.

"I'm good, I'm good. Listen, Grover, I need to find some water", I said.

"Well how about those water automates?" Grover suggested.

"That's it! Thanks, man!" I thanked him and ran towards the black marble water bowls.

I focused all my strength on the water inside the pipes, that climbed up the wall. I felt the power of water inside them.

"Concentrate, Perseus", I heard a voice in my head. My father.

"I will, Lord Poseidon", I thought and let the water burst from the taps. The shower hit it's target. The fury screamed and fell to the floor. Nico, Grover and possibly Annabeth too were ready to strike. In a puff of golden smoke, the fury disappeared.

Annabeth took her cap off. Her hair was tangled and wet. We were all pretty wet. In fact, the whole foyer was flooding. Thalia had finally gotten up. She was sitting on the floor. Her face was shaped like a question mark.

"What's with the water?" she asked, standing up.

"Percy thought the fury was thirsty", Annabeth said, smiling at me. I grinned back.

"Well, you came up with the idea", I said. I could swear I saw Annabeth blush.

"It's great we defeated the fury, but we're on a mission, remember?" Nico reminded and he was right.

We waded through the foyer. The 'info lady' hadn't told us where to find the statue of Dike, so we just had to find it ourselves. There couldn't be so many rooms in the place. Hah! We were soo wrong! We searched dozens of rooms with no luck whatsoever. We rushed from room to another and we couldn't find the damned statue. Then we entered the last room in the whole building (caution: cliché about to come) and there it was. Is that a cliché or not?

The statue was huge! It was a woman balancing a pair of scales, sculpted from white marble and its head almost hit the ceiling.

"Wow!" Nico breathed. Grover let out a low wistle.

"Well... what now?" Thalia asked.

Annabeth frowned. I knew what was going on. She was planning.

"Got it!" she smiled after a minute of thinking.

"Great! What shall we do?" I asked.

Annabeth took a couple of drachmas in her hand.

"I'm not sure if this works, but it's worth trying", she said.

She threw the drachmas on the floor and said:

"O, Goddess of Justice! Accept my offering!"

When the drachmas should've hit the dark marble floor, they sunk through it. For a minute, nothing happened. Then we heard rumbling. Like an earthquake. Grover yelped and glanced around, looking for something to nibble on. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. We looked around us, but nothing seemed to be above ordinary. I hope you noticed the word 'seemed', because we heard a voice coming from above us:

"Good evening, young heroes. What do you seek?"

We glanced at the statue. Its head was bent so, that the statue was looking and smiling at us.

"_Di immortales!_" gasped Grover.

"Oh, Lady Dike, we need your help", Annabeth said.

"What can I do for you?" Lady Dike asked.

We explained the situation to her. She listened carefully, nodding occasionally.

"Would you please, please help us, Lady Dike?" Annabeth finally asked.

The goddess was quiet for a while and then said:

"We have work to do, children. But first I'll change to my less conspicuous form."

We covered our eyes. There was a flash of divine light and Lady Dike was standing beside us, looking like a normal human being. She had long, dark hair, almost black and pretty, almond shaped brown eyes. I have to admit, she was beautiful, but all goddesses were, so I didn't pay much attention to it. Her statue was back in its original position.

"Wow, the world looks so different from this angle", she mused. "I haven't been able to use this form in a thousand years. But enough chatting, we have work to do!"

**That was today's of Come what may. I really hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are very much appreciated. I'm quite sure, that I'm not going to be able to write for in at least a week, because I have some important school stuff, but I'll try my best. Until that, **

**Peace, love, PJO.**

**Luv, **

**AC**


	6. Screw bus drivers!

**Hey again, people! Long time, no see. I'm sorry I've kept you waiting. Like I said, I had a lot of school stuff. I'm not gonna start blabbering. Here's the 5th chapter for you!**

**Annabeth's POV**

Oh, _fuck._

We stood at the bus stop, waiting for a bus, which would take us back to Shawnee and we could save Olympus. That was the plan. But how could we possibly think we had such good luck, that we really could get back without any problems? Being a demigod always means bad luck. We should've known better. _I _should've known better AND made a plan B. Why am I talking about our bad luck? Because the damn bus drivers had arranged a strike. Apparently the bus we took from Shawnee was one of the last ones, that were still moving then. By the time we'd got out of the courthouse all busses were at a halt. We had stood at the bus stop for about half an hour, until we'd realized something was dead wrong. There was a little convenience store close by. Thalia and Grover had volunteered to go there and ask about the bus schedule. Nico, Percy and I had stayed at the bus stop with Lady Dike.

We had told Dike everything about our trip, my dreams and Briareios and we had everything planned. We were supposed to get back to Shawnee, run to the Garden of the Gods, Dike would do some judgemental magic and the prison of Kottos and Gyes would be sealed for good. Simple, huh? We'd thought so too. When Thalia and Grover had come from the convenience store and told us about the bus driver strike, we had to think again. How could we get there in time?

We were thinking. Hard. The busses would certainly not move until tomorrow and that would be too late for us. We only had twelve hours left. If anything (like another monster or something) came on our way now, we'd never get back in time. There were no trains going through Memphis. It was late in the evening, about 9.30 pm. The convenience store had been closed already. There were only the five of us, plus Dike and what we'd understood about her was, that se was kinda useless. The only thing she could do, was judge. She was a minor god with no super powers. She couldn't teleport us anywhere.

In other words, we were stuck at a bus stop with backpacks heavy as Zeus' thrown and a divine judge. So excuse me, when I repeat my first expression:

Oh, fuck.

"Hey! I've got and idea!" Nico said suddenly. We all glanced at him. Finally, some hope!

"Oh, no... It doesn't work", he said and his head fell in his hands. So did mine. What to do? What to do?

_Mother, if you can, please give me a plan. A major one needed over here!_ I prayed to my mother.

I looked at the others. Thalia was fingering her bracelet. The one, that turned into Aegis. Grover tried to talk to her, but she wasn't communicating. Aww, Grover and Thalia would make a cute couple. I remembered the night on the beach with Percy, when we'd tried to predict the day when the two of them would get together. It had been a nice night. Just me and Percy talking and laughing. Those were times I loved the most. Being close to him, sharing thoughts and jokes with him...

"What if we'd just start walking? We could hitchhike", Percy asked, waking me up from my thoughts.

"That's a good idea!" said Grover enthusiastically.

"No, it isn't", Dike said.

"How come? I think that's a perfectly good idea", asked Percy.

"You forget there's six of us. We wouldn't fit in any car!" Dike explained and she was right. There was no way we could fit in a normal car. It had come quite clear, that we had no luck with transportation whatsoever and we wouldn't run into a limo on the way.

So we just continued sitting there, no one really saying anything. I was angry with myself now. I'd been offered a quest and now I'd dissapoint everyone. Olympus would be in big trouble in a good ten hours and we were stuck at a cold bus stop!

After a while, we started to go through the prophecy. We hadn't given it a thought after getting to Shawnee and putting up our camp.

"Tell us the prophecy again, Annabeth. Slowly", said Percy.

"Five will take the chariot on rails", I said. The others listened carefully.

"The train, that's obvious", said Nico. All nodded.

"And run into one of the ancient tales", I continued.

"The story about the titan brothers?" Grover asked.

"Must be. How many other tales we have run into lately?" said Thalia.

"Gods and titans shall be combined..."

"Briareios", both Nico and Percy said, nodding.

"When in the garden the words the heroes will find."

"Shit, I'm still really pissed about finding the damned place", Percy shook his head.

"One of the group will be betrayed by a friend. Now that's something I haven't noticed", I said.

"Yeah. What could it possibly mean?" Thalia thought. She glanced at me. I didn't know what she was thinking.

"I don't know. Maybe it's something really minor, but the Oracle just added it into the prophecy just to make it a bit spooky?" Nico guessed. "Like telling a secret or something. Someone just reveals a secret and that's it. It's sort of a betrayal, am I right?"

Uh-oh. If Thalia was thinking the same thing as I, I was screwed. We could actually fulfill that part of the prophecy if someone just revealed a secret. Thalia knew mine. She knew about my feelings towards Percy. Ooooh, no, she wouldn't! Besides, there wasn't a way to trick the prophecy. Something else would just happen and someone would betray one of us. I told the others about my last thoughts too. Thalia would have to keep her mouth shut.

"Go on, Annabeth. What's next?" Thalia said and I went on.

"And one in concern will meet his end", I said. I remembered my dream. The one I'd had after the Oracle had spoken to me. The one with a dead Percy. Then I remembered my last dream. The night Percy had sung me to sleep. I hadn't told the others about the details of the dream yet. Well, there wasn't much to tell. I had heard the noise of a battle again, but now I could see something too. I was standing in the middle of a battlefield. There were people in full greek armor fighting monsters, giants, other people, anything really. But there was one person I saw in particular: Percy was fighting this big giant with many heads and arms. In one hand the giant held a humongous sword, its blade almost 5 feet long. The giant flung his sword at Percy, who dodged, but lost his balance and fell at the giant's feet. I tried to run to help, but I couldn't. My feet wouldn't move. The giant had raised his sword and then let it fall.

Then I had yelled and Percy had woken me up. I shivered at the thought of my dream. Percy saw it and came to me. He probably thought I was afraid of this someone meeting his end. Well I kinda was, in a manner of speaking. I guess.

"Hey, don't you worry", he said. "I told you in the train already, that no one will get hurt, remember?"

"Yeah", I nodded, but wasn't quite convinced.

"Let's move on. There's still something, if I remember right", Grover said.

Yeah, there was still something. Something I hadn't given much thought, but it sounded like something we'd need to figure out.

"Listen, hero to the words of caution: always remember the temper of the ocean", I said.

"Hmm... That sounds like you, Percy", wondered Nico.

"Yeah, and I think the 'words of caution' were addressed to Annabeth", said Thalia. I said nothing. Why would the Oracle warn me about Percy? What could he do to me? He wouldn't hurt me.

Percy spoke my mind.

"I could never hurt Annabeth, that's for sure. I can't understand that part of the prophecy at all", he said and looked at me, his eyes warm. Warm, but still only friendly warm. During this trip I had truly realized how much I actually liked Percy. I guess I'd never let myself think about it before. I was a daughter of Athena, for crying out loud. I couldn't possibly like a son of Poseidon. My mother would tear her hair out for that. So there was no way I could ever like him more than just a friend. Not before now. I'd crossed the line. I liked Percy. There was no going back. But why was I even thinking about that? I was just a friend to Percy. Why was I worrying about my mother?

Dike, who had been quiet the whole time opened her mouth.

"You know, son of Poseidon, that you can hurt her in more ways than just one", she said and looked at Percy. "One can hurt people with swords and knives, but the wounds, that people leave on each others hearts and souls are more difficult to cure."

I glanced at Percy. His expression had gone glum.

"I still couldn't hurt her. Not on purpose at least. Friends don't do that. Especially best friends", he mumbled.

"I understand, but do remember what I said", Dike patted Percy's shoulder.

We sat in silence again. All hope had gone. There was no way we could get to the Garden of the Gods in time. After a while of moping, we decided to get some sleep. A couple of hours' sleep couldn't do any harm. Dike promised to keep an eye on things as we drifted to sleep one by one.

**Percy's POV**

After a few hours of sleep Dike woke us up. We had six hours left and she thought we should start thinking again. It was three am and we were starting to feel hungry. The convenience store wasn't open, obviously, so Thalia searched for something to eat from her backpack. Grover was perfectly happy. He was nibbling on the back of the bench.

"Satyrs", Annabeth mumbled and rolled her eyes. I was starting to get restless. What could the last two lines of the prophecy mean? What would I do to my Wise Girl?

"Earth calling Percy!" Thalia waved her hand in front of my face. She grinned at me.

"Still dreaming, huh?" she asked, glancing at Annabeth.

"No, just thinking", I answered. I couldn't let Thalia know about my feelings for Annabeth. Annabeth was her best friend and Thalia would tell her for sure if she knew. Thalia handed me a cracker. I stared at it.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"Yeah. We have nothing else right now", Thalia told me. "Just eat it."

We watched the Memphis skyline ahead. The sun would rise in an hour or so. The sun...

"I've got it!" I yelled triumphantly.

"What have you got, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. The others were staring at me.

"You know, I think the stress has made him snap for good", Nico said.

"Ha ha, very funny, Nico. Seriously. I have an idea", I said.

"Well, tell us. What thoughts linger inside your brain, oh mighty Seaweed Brain?" Thalia grinned. Sleep had done her good.

"The sun rises in an hour, right?" I asked the others.

"Yeah, what about it?" Grover said.

"Who makes the sun rise? Who rides the sun chariot?" I prompted.

"That's it, Percy! Of course!" said Thalia. We had rode Apollo's sun chariot before. Annabeth and Nico looked dumbfound. They hadn't been with us. Annabeth had been held prisoner and Nico had been at camp, learning the lifestyle of the demigods.

"Apollo, the god of medicine and the sun rides the sun chariot every morning. It's this cool car, which can morph into any kind of vehicle there is", I told them.

"You mean, like a van, for example?" asked Annabeth.

"Yeah, I guess", I said.

"But how could he help us? I mean, he rides over the world and it would take too long for him to get us to Shawnee!" Nico asked.

"I know. We would be there way too late, but I wasn't thinking about going to Shawnee", I said.

"Where then?" Thalia wondered.

"Olympus! Of course!" said Annabeth. "Wow, Percy. I'm really impressed. You have finally learned to think!" She grinned at me. I smiled back. I couldn't help noticing how cute she was. Her hair was a wild blonde mess on top of her head, her clothes were torn, but it kinda suited her.

"But how can we get Apollo over here?" asked Grover.

Thalia had the answer.

"Artemis could help", she said. "I can summon her."

"You do that", said Dike.

"Wait a second, how are we going to convince Apollo to help us?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, the Olympians aren't allowed to help us with our quests."

Thalia smiled.

"I can think about one way", she said. "But you aren't gonna like it."

She shared her plan with us and she was completely right. We most certainly didn't like it, but that was the only way we could get Apollo to help us.

"Okay, but summon Artemis now, we don't have that much time", said Nico.

"O, Lady Artemis! Your lieutenant requests Your presence", Thalia prayed.

For a minute, nothing happened. Then the air shimmered and in two seconds, a young, astonishingly beautiful girl was standing before us. Artemis.

"Thalia, what's on your mind in this hour?" she asked.

"It's a long story, my lady, but we need to see Apollo", Thalia explained. "Would you please summon him?"

"I can't understand why you want to see my brother in the middle of the night, but sure", said Artemis. She lifted her face up and yelled at the sky:

"Apollo! You are needed here!"

Then she looked at us.

"My brother will be here in a minute. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to my hunters. Take care, all of you. Farewell!" she said and disappeared in a flash of divine light.

Soon in another flash, Apollo's sun chariot, a Maserati Spyder, was standing in front of us, with an annoyed God of the Sun sitting in the driver's seat.

I glanced at Annabeth and Nico. They hadn't seen Apollo before and I wanted to know how they reacted. They were both looking at him with their mouths open. Nico was staring at the car and it looked like he would start drooling any minute. Annabeth was ogling Apollo in a trance. I didn't know about it, but I guess Thalia had been right when she'd described Apollo as 'hot', because Annabeth sure agreed with her. I felt a twinge of jealousy, as I watched Annabeth stare that airhead of a god.

Apollo jumped out of his car and walked to us.

"I was just about to get on with my work and I get a message from my little sis. When I come around, she isn't there, but instead I find a bunch of godlings!" he snapped.

"Lord Apollo, if you would be so kind and listen", Thalia pleaded.

"Hmph, I guess I can listen. But make it quick, I have work to do", Apollo said and crossed his arms.

"We ask for a favor", said Annabeth. She had woken up from her trance.

"And what would that be?" asked Apollo. I could tell from his expression, that he wasn't going to help us. I really hoped he still would, because I really didn't want to put our plan B into action. That would be too much.

"Would you please, please, please give us a ride to Olympus?" Annabeth pleaded. She looked like she would fall on her knees and beg in any second now. "We need your help. We need to get there as soon as possible."

Apollo hesitated. Then he said:

"I'm afraid I can't help you. I have to get to work. I hope you'll find some other way to get there. Goodbye!" He turned to leave. The others looked at me. I knew we had no other choice, than our plan B. I felt really self-conscious as I cleared my throat and prepared myself for the most humiliating thing I'd ever done. Apollo was climbing back in his car, when I stood up and fulfilled my mission.

"Oh, Lord Apollo.  
Please take us to Olympus.  
We love your cool being."

Holy crap, I can't believe I just said that. The others were snickering. Apollo on the other hand turned on his heels.

"Percy Jackson. I never thought I'd hear a haiku coming from you, but there it was!" he mused.

"Please, Lord Apollo", I begged.

A smile came on his face.

"Because I loved the last line, I'm willing to make an exception", he said. He pushed the button on the dashboard of his Maserati and it turned into a van.

Apollo opened me the shotgun door and then went sitting on the driver's seat. The rest went to sit in the trunk.

"That was some awesome ass-licking haiku reading, Seaweed Brain", Thalia whispered in my ear.

"Shut up. You're the one who came up with the idea in the first place", I said back. I heard the others giggle.

"Alright now, buckle up!" Apollo ordered. "We'll have to take a detour, but we'll be in Olympus in about five hours. I still have to do my job."

Oh crap. By then, Kottos and Gyes would be free and invading Olympus. Well, I guess all of us had settled for that. We couldn't get to Shawnee in time either, so it was better for us to go straight to Olympus. Apollo accelerated and the sun chariot lunged forward.

"If you don't mind, Apollo, I'll go back there. We need to discuss the situation", I said to Apollo.

"It's okay. Off you go, Percy", he said and cranked up the volume of his iPod.

I climbed to the back and the others made me some space there. They were sitting on the floor of the big trunk of the sun van.

"So what shall we do when we arrive at Olympus?" Grover asked. "Is there going to be a fight?"

"I suppose. Kottos and Gyes will want a revenge", said Dike.

"But if we just go there and you'll do your hocus-pocus? They'll be prisoners again, right?" Nico asked.

"It's not that simple, son of Hades", said Dike. "You see, they need to be captured. That's how it goes in real litigations. The culprit will be taken to court and then the judge convicts him."

"So what you are saying is, that first we need to capture them?" I asked.

"Yes", said Dike.

"Yeah, we'll capture two giants with fifty heads and a hundred arms!" Thalia cried out.

"How do you know how many arms they have?" Annabeth asked.

"The plate said: 'Beware the Hundred-Handed Ones", Thalia explained.

"Oh", said Annabeth.

I could probably say, that our mission was beyond difficult. If Kottos and Gyes had managed to build a little army of giants like the last time, they would most certainly cause some damage at Olympus. And someone would get hurt.

Then I realized it. 'One will be betrayed by a friend.' How didn't I see it before? I was going to break my promise to Annabeth. I'd promised her no one would get hurt.

I didn't want to scare her, so I just decided to keep my mouth shut about it. The least I could do was to make sure the one who'd get hurt wouldn't be one of us.

Suddenly the van stopped. There weren't any seat belts in the back, so the six of us crashed on the front seats. I hit my head.

"Oh, Hades!" I cursed and then added: "Sorry, Nico."

"Don't worry. I was just about to say the same", Nico groaned. He had gotten under Dike and Grover and I could tell, that his posture wasn't quite comfortable.

"Okay, people! We have arrived at the Empire State Building!" Apollo called from the front.

"Thank you, Apollo", said Thalia, who had got up and opened the door.

We scrambled out of the car. Apollo pushed the button on his dashboard again and the chariot turned into a Maserati Spyder again.

"I'll see you around, Percy!" he called. "Keep making haikus!"

Then in a flash of light, he was gone.

We dashed in the Empire State Building and ran for the elevators. The security guy said nothing. I guess he knew us that well. He just gave us the key card. The elevator ride had never felt as long as it felt this time. We all were anxious and we just glanced up and down, shifting. Finally the doors opened with a 'ding' and we stormed out of the elevator. We couldn't see what was happening further up, but the stone path was peaceful. We didn't waste time. We started running along the path as fast as we could. Thalia opened Aegis and Nico drew his sword. I uncapped Riptide. I prayed to the gods, that we wouldn't need to use our weapons much. Soon enough we reached the top of Olympus.

We'd arrived in the middle of a raging riot.

**That was it! Tell me what you think. Have an awesome day!**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**AC**


	7. Hero, listen to the words of caution

**Hello again! This is the sixth chapter of Come what may. Dig in! But first a special thanks to lilflipballer for betaing this story! Okay, now you can dig in! Enjoy!**

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* * *

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**Annabeth's POV**

Olympus was pure chaos. When we arrived on the top, we almost got hit by a boulder the size of Grover's backpack when it was bulging with tin cans. Apparently Kottos and Gyes had gathered up a little army of anti-Olympians. There were cyclopes, other giants, some freaky spirits and in the lead, Kottos and Gyes. They were just like their much nicer brother – they were huge and muscular, but there had been something about Briareios... He was kind and friendliness glowed from him. But his brothers – pure evil. Their eyes (they had fifty heads, so I could see at least ten of their eyes from where we stood) were gleaming with hatred. In each of their hundred hands they held a rock, occasionally throwing one at the buildings. All of the Olympian gods were fighting against the intruding army. They were wearing full Greek battle armor. Zeus threw his bolts at the giants, who were tearing the buildings down, Poseidon was fighting a huge cyclops with his trident. My mom was carrying the original Aegis.

For a minute, we just stood there, staring at the view in horror.

"Should we help them?" Thalia asked from my right.

"I suppose we should. That's why we're here", I said. I glanced at Percy. He watched the battle, his face hard.

"Then let's go!" Nico yelled and ran towards the nearest cyclops, screaming wildly as he went. Dike pulled a dagger from her pocket and rocketed forward. Thalia and Grover glanced at each other, then joined Nico. I was about to follow them, but someone took my hand.

"Annabeth, wait", Percy said and pulled me back.

"But we need to hep them!" I said, pulling my hand off his.

I looked at Percy. He looked sad. I was sure he was thinking about the prophecy, about someone getting hurt. That was just like him. He was always worried about his friends getting hurt. Sometimes I just wished he'd cut it off. I didn't need protection. I had my cap and brains. That's enough for me.  
Percy hesitated and then said quietly:

"Just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be careful, Seaweed Brain", I told him. "You keep yourself safe too."

Percy frowned. I didn't know why.

"I made a promise, Wise Girl", he said. "I promised you none of us will get hurt."

"Swear it upon the river Styx", I pleaded. He couldn't break his promise if he swore upon the river Styx.

_Please, please, please, do it. I'll die if you get hurt, _I thought.

"Annabeth", Percy said softly. "As much as I'd want, I can't swear that upon the river Styx."

I guess I understood. A son of Poseidon or not, no one could prevent someone getting hurt in this kind of a battle. My eyes stung. I tried to fight the tears.

"Oh, Annabeth. It's okay", Percy said and squeezed my hand.

"I know. It's just... I can't even think about someone getting hurt", I mumbled. I wiped my tears away.

"Okay. Let's kick some giant ass!" I said and we ran towards the action. I put my cap on and took my knife out of my sleeve, where I always kept it. I ran past Nico, who had summoned some dead spirits to help him fight a cyclops, who was near to its end. I saw Thalia and Grover fight an evil spirit. Grover was playing his pipes, making roots grow out of the ground and making the spirit get tangled in them. I searched something to attack, scanning the whole view. I dodged a boulder thrown by one of the titan brothers. The other was fighting a bunch of nymphs. The situation didn't look so good for them. The hundred-handed giant beat their asses in a matter of minutes.

Then I saw a cyclops running towards me. He was dazzled and his steps were wobbly. An easy kill, but who cares? I ran towards him, slashing his thigh with my knife as he ran past me. The cyclops wailed in pain and stopped to see who'd hurt him. I jumped on his back and stabbed him in his side. With another roar of pain the cyclops tried to grab me from his back but I was faster. I jumped off his back and went for the kill. I made my way in front of the cyclops and jabbed my knife through his stomach. The cyclops dissolved in golden smoke.

I wiped the hair off my face and looked around me. The number of the intruders had decreased a bit. Dike was fighting a humongous giant with Apollo, who was now aiming at it with his bow. Zeus threw his bolts towards one of the titan brothers. I saw Briareios wrestling with a cyclops. It was an easy fight for Briareios. With the number of his arms, the odds weren't too good for the poor cyclops. Then I was suddenly knocked down by someone. An evil spirit had killed a nymph, who'd fallen on top of me. I scrambled on my feet and looked at the nymph. Her beautiful, slightly green face was torn and she had a deep wound in her stomach. The spirit who'd killed her was moving away from me and the dead nymph. I ran after it and with one strike of my knife in its back it dissolved with a wail of pain.

I saw Percy run past me. I darted after him and tapped him on his shoulder. He startled.

"It's only me, Seaweed Brain", I whispered.

"Oh, hi, Wise Girl. How's it going?" Percy grinned at me. His face was gleaming with sweat and there were leaves and stuff in his hair.

"Good, good. I see you've done some hardcore fighting, huh?" I asked.

"Totally", he answered, knocking out a spirit on the way.

Then I heard a deafening wail of pain.

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**Percy's POV**

I scanned the battlefield, searching for the source of the wail. Then I saw it. Briareios was lying on the ground, in the feet of one of his brothers. The giant freak raised about seventy of his hands with a boulder in each of them and threw the rocks at Briareios. The noise was deafening. Like an earthquake, avalanche and a huge explosion at the same time, accompanied by a scream of Briareios, who was now under a heap of rocks.

"Oh, Styx!" I cried.

My vision was clouded by red clouds. All I could see clearly was the Hundred-handed One, who was roaring with laughter now. I heard my pulse in my ears. I was outraged. This douchebag had just attacked Olympus, killed his brother and now he was laughing his ass off. I let out a wild yell and darted towards the brother of Briareios. My heart beat wildly as I ran. It was as my blood had spoken to me in rhythm with its beat: _"Vengeance, vengeance, vengeance..."_

"Percy! Don't!" I heard someone scream behind me, but I didn't care.  
All I wanted now was to kill that ass, who was just laughing there. As an ADHD kid, revenge was the first thing I ever thought, when I got mad at someone.

"Hey, douchebag! Shut up and fight!" I yelled at the giant. All his heads turned to look at me.

"I shall squash you like a bug, young hero!" he roared and tried to grab me with half of his hands.  
I dodged and slashed at him with Riptide, causing a wound on one of his arms. That didn't seem to affect him at all. He threw a rock at me. I threw myself on the ground, rolled once and got back on my feet again, only to be grabbed at again. I rolled left to avoid being grabbed. I saw the giant wince once and swing a few of his hands at something. Suddenly Annabeth was standing there. The giant had flung her cap off her head. It was lying in the ground, not within Annabeth's reach. The giant seemed to take some interest in Annabeth, because he left me alone for a while, now swinging his hands at her.

"Get your filthy hands off my daughter, Kottos!" I heard a woman yell.

Athena darted at Annabeth. Kottos was momentarily stunned, but that didn't last long. Together Annabeth and her mother attacked him. I snuck behind Kottos while he was busy with Athena and Annabeth and stabbed him with Riptide. He wailed and turned to me, exposing his back to the brainiacs.  
I saw Annabeth slash at Kottos' legs. She was astonishingly beautiful, whenever she fought someone. Her face was filled with concentration as she planned, fighting at the same time. And her style in fighting – perfect. Considerate and aggressive in one package. Just my type of a girl.

As I watched Annabeth I left my own guard and soon regretted it. All I felt was a blow on the small of my back and I fell on the ground, yelling as I went. The pain was excruciating. I only heard a girl yell "No!" before I was swallowed by darkness.

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**Annabeth's POV**

I was in a tough spot, when my mom came to help me. She yelled at the giant (Kottos, so she'd said) to keep his hands off me and ran beside me. Together we attacked his front. I saw Percy sneak behind him. I suppose he'd hurt Kottos, because soon he cried and turned to him. Mom and I went for his back, slashing where we could. It was kinda hard to reach anywhere, because Kottos was huge! I wounded his legs as much as I could. Mom, who was in her big form, sheared his back with her sword.

In the middle of slashing and stabbing I heard the most terrifying sound ever. A boy's yell and a 'thump'. I knew just who'd cried. Percy. I glanced around, trying to see what had happened to him and I saw him lying on the ground, unconscious.

"No!" I screamed. Tears started flowing from my eyes. How could this be possible? He'd promised me he'd be fine!  
That's when it hit me. He had promised me. And broken his promise. Betrayed me.

"I'll kill you for that!" I yelled at Kottos, who was fighting my mother. He turned to me.

"You may try, girl, but you'll have a pitiful end, just like your little friend there", he said, pointing at Percy.

I didn't hear a thing anymore. All noise was drowned by blood roaring in my ears. I wanted revenge. I might never get Percy back, but I most certainly would kill that asshole, who'd taken him from me.  
I charged at Kottos, ran from between his legs, slashing his thighs as I went. Kottos tried to grab me with many of his hands, but I swerved and dodged them. Meanwhile my mother was cutting his arms off. Many of his arms were bloody stubs. I attacked Kottos again, now jumping on his back and stabbed his shoulders and back. He wailed and tried to grasp me from his back. I tried to dodge his hands, but there were too many of them and he got a grip of my ankle. He lifted me up and dropped me. I waited for the crash and broken bones, but they never came. Instead someone caught me. I looked up, dazzled.  
It was Poseidon.

"That was close there, huh, girl?" Poseidon asked. I couldn't do anything, but stare at him. I was a bit shocked.

Poseidon put me down and grasped his trident. Then he charged at Kottos, who was again fighting with my mom. I soon recovered from the shock and followed Poseidon. I wanted to be the one, who'd kill him. I wanted vengeance. So I attacked again. While Poseidon was fighting him with his trident and mom distracted him from behind, I made up a quick plan. It was useless though, because before I'd even started to act, Thalia, Grover and Nico were by my side.

"We saw..." Thalia said, but her voice broke. Tears were glistening in her eyes.

"I know", I told her. But this wasn't the right time for grief.

"Let's do this together", I told the others.

"For Percy", Grover agreed.

"Thalia, could you borrow me your bow and quiver?" I asked my best friend.

She handed them to me and I slipped my knife back in my sleeve. Then we all raised our weapons.

"For Percy!" we yelled as the four of us rocketed towards Kottos.  
Thalia and Nico started slashing his legs, Grover threw cans in fury and I climbed on Kottos' back again. Now Kottos had so much to do, with two demigods, two Olympians and a satyr fighting him, that he didn't even notice me in his back. I drew the bow and shot at Kottos' head. He wailed and tripped. He still managed to retain his balance. My friends, mom and Poseidon understood what I was trying, so they attacked with superior force, compelling Kottos to concentrate on them and not me. I shot another arrow at his head. He stumbled again, but didn't fall. Single arrows didn't do enough, so I drew the bow again, now with two arrows. I'd tried that before, but it didn't end up that well. Now I had to succeed. Screw Dike, she could banish Gyes. I wanted an eye for an eye. I aimed at Kottos' head, the bow drawn. I forgot to breathe, I didn't hear anything. Just me, the bow and the unbearable grief for Percy. I released the string and heard Kottos cry in pain. I quickly shot another two in his head and he fell. The unfortunate thing was, that I was still on his back and I fell with him. Kottos' dead body dissolved in golden smoke. I fell on the ground hard, probably breaking my wrist, but I didn't care. I stood up. I didn't look at my friends, not mom, mot Poseidon. I just ran to Percy, who was lying in the ground. All the other giants and spirits were killed. They had arranged a spot, where Apollo treated wounded nymphs. I knelt over Percy and rolled him on his back. Nico, Grover, Thalia, Poseidon and my mom all came around me and Percy.

"He's still alive", Nico said. "I can sense it. I know when someone dies."

I felt a jolt of relief. He wasn't dead!

"But he's very weak. I'm not sure if he'll survive even with nectar and ambrosia", he added.

"Percy! Can you hear me?" I called him. "Please, wake up!"

His eyelids fluttered and his eyes opened slightly.

"Annabeth?" he croaked.

"Oh, Percy! You're alive! I thought I'd lost you forever", I stroked his cheek.

"Perrrr-cy!" Grover bleated, but I heard someone kick him.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?" he complained. I didn't hear the answer.

"Percy, I..." I started, but he silenced me, putting his finger on my lips.

"Shh, Annabeth. It's okay. I'm going to be fine. I promise", he said, taking my hand in his.

"No, Percy. It's not okay", I said, tears filling my eyes.

"But it will be", Percy whispered, reaching for my face, but didn't have enough strength.

"Percy..." I stroked his face again, leaning closer to him. "Don't try to tell me everything's going to be okay. Nico already told us", I said.

"No, Annabeth. Don't give up hope. I promised not to die. That's a promise I won't break", he said. He now had enough strength to touch my cheek with his hand. I took it with mine and kept it there. Tears were flowing down my cheeks.

"Annabeth, there's something I need to say. I've been waiting way too long", Percy said. He had some difficulties to breathe now.

"Tell me, Percy", I manage to say, before I broke into sobs.

"Don't cry, Annabeth. I hate seeing you cry", Percy whispered. "I wish you to be a happy Wise Girl, okay? Smile and laugh and enjoy your life."

"But you promised me you wouldn't get hurt", I sobbed.

"But I am not hurt, Annabeth", said Percy. "I can't feel any pain. Just a look of your face makes me forget all pain."

I was confused. He was probably raving. He seemed to be able to read my emotions, because he said:

"I mean it. The feel of your hand on mine, just a glimpse of your beautiful, grey eyes... It numbs the pain. I... I'm in love with you, Annabeth."

If I had been confused before, I don't know what I was now. He'd said the words I'd been waiting to hear for years. I knew just what I wanted to say back, but the words were stuck in my throat.

"If I die now, I'll die as a happy man. Knowing you're safe, looking into your grey eyes", Percy whispered. I stroked his face with my free hand, since my other hand was still holding his against my cheek.

"Percy, I..." I tried to speak, but there was still a lump in my throat, that enabled the words to come out. So I just lowered my face and pressed my lips against his. Just once. Then I pulled away. I tried to speak again. The lump in my throat had gotten a little bit smaller so I managed to whisper:

"I'm in love with you, too, Seaweed Brain."

I was still crying. It felt like all hope had gone. My Seaweed Brain was dying. I heard Apollo give orders to people, who were helping the wounded. Wait a sec... Apollo! I turned to the others. They'd been watching me and Percy the whole time. Thalia's eyes were red from crying. Grover had his arms around her. Nico just sat there in silence. My mother and Poseidon were talking a few meters away.

"Take care of Percy for a while", I said.

"Of course", Thalia said and hiccuped.

"Great. I have a plan", I said and ran away.

**Thalia's POV**

All of us ran to Percy, when we had taken care of Kottos. Even Athena and Poseidon came with us. Annabeth was in front of course. She'd probably broken her wrist in the fall, but that didn't seem to bother her. She'd just jumped on her feet and run like the wind. She knelt next to Percy and started to wake him up. Nico announced, that Percy was still alive, but only just. He could sense a faint life aura in him. To our relief, Percy soon opened his eyes and called Annabeth by her name.

"Perrrrr-cy!" Grover cried from beside me. I kicked him hard. This was Annabeth's moment.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?" he asked me, rubbing his leg. I didn't say anything, just motioned towards Annabeth and Percy, who were holding hands.

Nico, Grover and I sat down. I heard Athena say Poseidon something about a need to talk and they walked away. I thought about the future. Percy's death would hurt us all. We had been friends for years. If Percy died... That would leave us one short. I could never call him Seaweed Brain. Every time I would see water, I'd feel the grief of losing one of my best friends ever. Then I thought of Annabeth. Would I ever be able look at her again if Percy's number was up now? What would his death do to my best friend?

Grover sensed my grief and wrapped his arms around me, comforting me. He had always been there for me, big-hearted as he was. I guess I was a bit sweet on him. Grover, the tree-hugger goat boy. What could this influence me being a huntress? Grover's embrace was so comforting. Tears gathered in my eyes, flowing down my face.

"There, there, Thalia. It's okay", Grover tried to calm me down, but his voice broke and we cried together. Nico was just sitting beside us, staring at the ground. I wondered how he felt. Or course he was sad, but death was his father's domain. How did it feel?

Soon I couldn't think about Percy dying anymore. Instead I started to listen to Percy and Annabeth.

"I'll die as a happy man", I heard Percy say. No, it couldn't be true. He just couldn't die now! I glanced quickly at Percy and Annabeth. Just then I saw Annabeth lower her face and kiss Percy. Way to go, girl! Then a wave of sadness hit me. There was a possibility, that this would be their last kiss.

Suddenly Annabeth stood up. She turned to us and said:

"Take care of Percy for a while."

I promised to do so. I was still sobbing.

"Great, I have a plan", Annabeth said and ran towards the spot where Apollo and some others were helping the injured.

The three of us moved closer to Percy. His face was all bloody and pale. He looked horrible.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain", I said quietly. He coughed and greeted me back.

"What's up, Pinecone Face?" he tried to smile, but he winced and his eyes closed for a second.

"Oh, Percy! This is terrible. I'm a really bad protector!" Grover sniffled.

"It's okay, man, don't worry. And don't say that. You're the best protector and friend in the world!" said Percy. "Where did Annabeth go?" he asked.

"She said something about having a plan", Nico told him. "Gods bless her. She'll do anything in order to save you."

"Yeah, I suppose", Percy sighed.

"You know, Percy, you two would make the cutest couple ever!", said Grover.

"I know, right?" Percy said and winced in pain again.

"Son!" we heard a man say.

Poseidon and Athena were standing behind us, both looking worried. We made way for them.

"Father", Percy answered the sea god's call.

"I just wanted to say, that I'm very proud of you, my boy", Poseidon knelt next to his son, a single tear glistening on his cheek.

"Thanks, dad", said Percy. "That means a lot to me."

Then all of a sudden, Annabeth came back to us with Apollo running behind her.

"Okay, people, the god of medicine coming through!" Apollo said. We backed away of him and Percy as Apollo began to use his magic to save our best friends life.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

I sat on the top of the Half-Blood Hill, watching the sun set behind the New York skyline. I was thinking. I had done this in the past two days. I haven't slept at all after the battle at Olympus and it had been two days since. I have been worried sick. When I'd made up the plan, that would possibly save Percy I hadn't given a thought to the fact that even though Apollo was a god, he wasn't flawless. Now Percy had been in the infirmary for two days without giving any signs of life, except his pulse. I remembered how I'd made Apollo help us. If the situation had been any less sad, I would've laughed. I'd run to Apollo and yelled:

"I don't care if you aren't supposed to help heroes with their quests, but you'd better get your blooming ass over there this instant!"

When Apollo had refused I'd done the same, that Percy had done for us: I'd knelt at Apollo's feet and said:

"Oh, Lord Apollo!  
Save my loved one's life now please.  
You're so terrific."

"Oh, you have some hiding talent too, huh, daughter of Athena?" Apollo had said. "Well, I'll see what I can do."

Then he'd worked for about half an hour to save Percy and flown him and us here at camp.

I put on my earphones. I'd gotten an iPod as a gift from my father last christmas. There was one song, that I'd listened to, like, 24/7 after we had gotten back to camp. I knew it so well, that I sang along, even though every word hurt like someone was stabbing my gut with pins.

"The stars lean down to kiss you,  
And I lie awake and miss you,  
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere.  
Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly,  
But I'll miss your arms around me.  
I'll send a postcard to you dear,  
Cause I wish you were here.

I watch the night turn light blue,  
But it's not the same without you,  
Because it takes two to whisper quietly.  
The silence isn't so bad,  
Till I look at my hands and feel sad,  
Cause the spaces between my fingers  
Are right where yours fit perfectly.

I'll find opposing new ways,  
Though I haven't slept in two days,  
Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone.  
But drenched in Vanilla twilight,  
I'll sit on the front porch all night,  
Waist deep in thought because when I think of you.  
I don't feel so alone.  
I don't feel so alone.  
I don't feel so alone.

As many times as I blink I'll think of you tonight.  
I'll think of you tonight.

When violet eyes get brighter,  
And heavy wings grow lighter,  
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again.  
And I'll forget the world that I knew,  
But I swear I won't forget you,  
Oh if my voice could reach back through the past,  
I'd whisper in your ear,  
Oh darling I wish you were here."

I cried again. I had done that a lot after the battle. Percy was as good as dead. Still, I had to believe he wasn't gone. He'd said he had fallen in love with me. In the middle of the huge sorrow, I felt a sudden twinge of happiness, which made me feel hopeful too. Percy must wake up. I must speak to him again.

I heard someone run towards me. The steps came behind me.

"Annabeth!" I heard a yell. It was Thalia.

"What is it?" I asked, wiping my eyes. I didn't feel embarrassed to let Thalia see I had been crying again. She'd gotten used to it.

"It's Percy!" she said urgently. I jumped up and we ran to the big house.

* * *

**What has happened? Will Percy and Annabeth have their happy ever after? I don't know. We'll see. I just had to put that song there. It's an awesome song and I think it fits there perfectly. It's Vanilla twilight by Owl city. Reviews are very much appreciated.**

**Peace, love, PJO.**

**AC**


	8. Feelings

**Hey again! **

**This chapter contains very much Percabeth indeed. My sister (a total percabethist) loved this chappie, when she read it. I hope you like it as much as she did! R&R.**

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* * *

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**Annabeth's POV**

Oh my gods! What could it be? I ran to the big house, where Chiron had arranged the basement for Percy. Chiron was standing by the porch.

"Annabeth! I'm glad you came so fast," he said and motioned me to follow him inside. Thalia came right behind us. I went to sit on the chair beside Percy's bed. I had spent a remarkable amount of time just sitting there and talking to Percy. I looked at Chiron.

"Why did you want me here, Chiron?" I asked him.

"Apollo dropped by and said, that we should try feed him some ambrosia," he said. "And you have already been sitting next to his bed, so I suppose you could do something useful."

"Of course I will," I said. "So... Does this mean, that Percy will recover?" I asked Chiron.

"I think there is a possibility," he answered and passed me a bowl of ambrosia and a spoon. Then he left me and Thalia with Percy. I looked at Thalia.

"I'm sorry I haven't been much of a friend lately," I told her. It was true. I was more like a zombie because the lack of sleep and I hadn't been able to live like a human being. My thoughts had been clouded by insufferable sadness.

"It's okay, Annabeth. I understand you perfectly," Thalia said and walked closer to me. She sat on the floor and crossed her legs. "It's just painful to see you sad, you know," she added.

I started to shove ambrosia down Percy's throat.

"Percy asked me not to be sad. He wanted me to be happy," I said quietly. I hadn't told anyone about our talk at Olympus. "But it's hard not to be sad, when there's a possibility that he'll never wake up."

Thalia touched my leg.

"Don't give up hope, Annabeth. He'll wake up," she said softly. "Percy's strong and he has many good reasons to come back around."

I smiled slightly. I remembered when Percy had told me he'd fallen in love with me. His voice was soft and his eyes solemn. I knew he had meant it. That made me feel slightly better.

"Can I ask something, Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"You already did," I smiled. "Sure, shoot."

"What precisely did happen before you went to get Apollo?" Thalia sounded slightly curious.

I hesitated. Thinking about those moments made me feel better, but they still hurt somehow. Would I be able to talk about it?

"Did he say anything important?" Thalia asked. _Well, here goes nothing,_ I thought.

"He said he was in love with me," I said slowly.

I waited for the pain to come, but it didn't. Wow, I was stronger than I'd thought.

Thalia squealed.

"Oh, that's so sweet!" She clapped her hands.

I managed to smile at her.

"Yeah, it was," I said and sighed. Thalia's expression changed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked about it. I can see it's a difficult subject," she said.

"It's okay," I said and shoved another spoonful of ambrosia in Percy's mouth.

Neither one of us said anything after that. We just sat there. Thalia watched me feed Percy. After a while Thalia rose.

"I'm going to bed. Should I bring you something from breakfast?" she asked. I knew she was concerned about my health; I hadn't been eating either.

"I'm fine, but would you give an offering to my mother for me? Ask for some help," I asked her.

"Of course," Thalia said and left.

I looked at Percy. He'd looked just the same for two days. No signs of life, but his fluttering pulse. I couldn't even hear his breath, his lungs were so weak. I shoved another spoonful down his throat.

I sat there the whole night, feeding Percy. There were no windows in the basement, so I couldn't know then the sun would rise.

"You're not even drooling, Seaweed Brain," I said. I'd heard, that people in coma could hear what people around them said. I supposed it would make Percy happy, if I talked to him. I had done that often.

"Why can't you just wake up? Everyone's worried sick," I continued.

"You know, these past two days have been like an endless nightmare. The worst part is, that now that you are just lying there, there's no one to wake me up."

I pulled my iPod out of my pocket and put the earphones on. I knew just the song I wanted to hear now.

"Would you like to hear a song, Percy?" I asked. I put the other earphone in his ear.

"I know you love this one. You sang this to me in the tent, remember?" I asked and brushed his cheek.

I listened to the man and woman's duet in silence and thought of the night in the tent. Percy had sung me to sleep. I could almost hear his voice crooning the beautiful words in my ear. A wave of sadness swept over me. I wrapped my arms around my chest. I'd done that a lot, too. I'd found it helpful, just to curl up in a ball with my arms around me. It kinda soothed me and took most of the sadness away. I stroked Percy's face with my index finger and started to sing along:

"And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide,  
sing out this song and I'll be there by your side.  
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide,  
but I'll love you until the end of time..."

Suddenly I heard Percy huff deeply. I took the earphones off.

"Percy? Can you hear me?" I asked and quickly fed him another spoonful of ambrosia.

No answer.

I felt a jolt of happiness. Finally, Percy had started to make some noise. I left the bowl on his bedside table and ran like mad. I ran all the way to the Mess Hall, where the campers were just finishing their breakfast.

"Chiron!" I yelled as I ran to the table twelve. Grover tapped Chiron and he turned to look at me.

"What is it, Annabeth?" he asked. "Did something happen?"

"Percy... huffed..." I panted. I had completely forgotten to breathe.

"Huffed?" Chiron looked confused. "Well, I guess that means there's still some life in him."

Thalia had seen me and she came running from Zeus' table.

"Anything new, Annabeth?" she asked.

"He's making huffing noises," I told her.

"I _knew it!_" she squealed. "He just wouldn't die yet!"

Thalia went to grab Nico and all of us, Chiron, Thalia, Nico, Grover and I went back to the big house. We gathered around his bed.

"So, what exactly happened here?" Chiron asked me.

"I was talking to him, as usual. Then I let him listen a song from my iPod and suddenly he just huffed," I said.

"Oooh, what song?" Grover asked.

"You remember the night in the tent, Grover?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" said Grover.

"Percy sang me to sleep that night, after waking me up from my nightmare," I said and glanced at Percy.

"I made him listen to the same song he'd sung for me," I explained Grover, who looked confused.

"Oooh, now I understand everything!" Thalia said.

"I say..." Chiron mumbled.

"Chiron?" Nico asked.

"Yes?"

"Could it be possible if Percy had reacted to the song?" Nico wondered.

"It most certainly isn't impossible," Chiron said. "Annabeth, why would you try it again?"

"Sure, Chiron," I said and put an earphone in Percy's ear.

I was thrilled. Would he wake up? Could this be the way?

Nothing happened in a while. We waited in silence and watched Percy's blank face. The song came to its end and started to play again. I took the earphone out of Percy's ear and looked at my friends and Chiron.

"Don't worry, Annabeth. He'll still wake up," Grover comforted me.

I looked at Percy again. He just lay there, motionless, his eyes closed.

"Oh, Percy, why can't you just wake up?" I asked him.

Suddenly his eyelids fluttered a bit.

"Chiron!" I cried. "Did you see that?"

"What?" Chiron asked.

"His eyelids were moving," I said.

"Percy, do it again. Can you hear me?" I said to Percy. He huffed again and suddenly opened his sea green eyes.

"Yippee! He's alive!" Grover cried.

"Thank the gods!" Thalia breathed.

"Shh, don't disturb him," said Chiron.

Percy looked tired and confused, but he most certainly was alive. I can't put down in words how happy I was. My Seaweed Brain was okay!

"Anna...beth?" Percy mumbled. His voice was quiet and raspy.

"I'm here, Seaweed Brain," I said. Percy smiled.

"Told you... I wouldn't... die yet, didn't I?" he whispered. "Just like... I promised. Come what may."

"Of course you wouldn't. I would've killed you if you did!" I smiled at him.

"Percy, I'm so glad you're okay!" Chiron said. Thalia, Nico and Grover nodded in unison.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, guys," said Percy, still smiling.

"Okay, open up you," I said, offering Percy some ambrosia. He opened his mouth and I shoved the spoonful in his mouth.

"By the way, you didn't drool this time," I grinned.

* * *

We moved Percy back to the infirmary, from where he'd been transferred to the big house. Grover, Thalia, Nico and I took turns in taking care of him. In a few days Percy was strong enough to sit and eat by himself. His diet still consisted of nectar and ambrosia. He needed to fully recover. I would sit by his bed for hours, just talking to him. I was happy again. The other campers had noticed that too. Especially my siblings. When I arrived at Athena's table for lunch for the first time after the battle, all of them jumped up and hugged me, welcoming me back in their midst. I gladly offered a part of my meal for my mom.

_Thank you, mother. For all of your help,_ I prayed.

It took a week until we could take Percy for little walks outside the infirmary. The other campers ran to greet him, when we first took him out. He still needed some support, because his legs were quite weak, but we were glad to offer our shoulders for his support. We were all so happy, that he was alive and kicking. There was only one thing, that bothered me – we hadn't said about our talk on the battlefield. I felt there were still some things unsaid. Every time I thought of it, I shoved the thoughts aside. I wanted Percy to fully recover before we would talk about it.

Pretty soon Percy was able to join us at meals. He still needed a portion of nectar twice a day, but he could eat proper food now. Chiron didn't let him eat alone, so Nico, Grover and Thalia were allowed to sit with him. I wasn't allowed to leave Athena's table, which kinda pissed me off, but we communicated silently over the mess hall.

After today's dinner the five of us took a walk down to the beach. Thalia had managed to convince a boy from Hermes' cabin to snitch a deck of cards from the camp store (Grover had been so anxious, while Percy had been unconscious, that he'd eaten the last deck). Nico taught us play 'Kings and asses'. I totally kicked his ass this time.

Being around water made Percy feel much better. Points for Poseidon! After a while of playing the boys started wrestling playfully and soon Percy was running along the coastline, chasing Nico and Grover, who had thrown a ton of sand down his shirt. Thalia and I looked at them, laughing. Grover tripped and fell with a puff of sand. That caused a domino effect, that ended in a heap of cursing guys.

"Percy's recovered so much today," Thalia mused.

"Yeah, the ocean does him good," I said.

"Hey, girls! Miss us much?" Grover jogged to us flanked by Percy and Nico.

"Look at you, Seaweed Brain! You're rife with energy!" I said as Percy sat down next to me.

"And look like it too!" Thalia added and ruffled his hair. Percy laughed.

"I feel alive again," he said blissfully and looked at me.

Later at the bonfire some people, who hadn't talked to Percy after he'd come around came to greet us. Pretty soon I saw Percy getting tired of all the partying and I offered to take him to his cabin to rest a bit. He was glad to get away from the hassle so we started to walk towards the cabins.

"You know, I've been thinking," Percy said, when we reached Poseidon's cabin and went in.

"About what?" I asked.

"About how you woke me up after the fight at Olympus." Percy sat on his bed and motioned me to do so too.

Uh-oh, here we go. I had been planning to ask Percy about it, but apparently he had done it first. Percy took my hand in his.

"I just want you to know, that I really meant everything I said back then," he said. His eyes were warm and the most beautiful sea green ever. My heart was beating madly and I forgot to breathe. I was completely lost in his eyes.

"Me too," I managed to say.

Percy brushed some strands of my hair behind my ear.

"So... What now?" I asked. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I planned to ask you that," Percy said. "Whatever suits you makes me happy. Except telling me to piss off and hating me for the rest of your life..." he babbled.

"Why in Hades would I do that?" I asked.

"Well, our parents aren't actually best friends and maybe you don't want to be with me because I'm a silly Seaweed Brain and..." I stopped him there, placing my index finger on his lips.

"Now, listen to me, Seaweed Brain," I said. "I couldn't even think of telling you to piss off. The two days you were unconscious were a complete nightmare. I have actually told you this before, while feeding you ambrosia, but I'll say it again to make sure you'll hear it. Yeah, those two days were a nightmare and the worst thing was, that there was no one to wake me up. No one to pull me on his lap and sing me back to peaceful slumber." I squeezed his hand in mine. Tears were starting to gather in my eyes again.

Percy pulled me in a warm embrace. He kissed my hair and whispered:

"Then I guess my only option is to never leave you."

He pulled back to look at my face. I knew my eyes were all pink and puffy, but I didn't care. There were so many emotions there at the same time, that I felt like my heart would explode any second. Percy, with all his sweetness and love was too much for me to bare. I clung to him, pressing myself against his chest.

"Promise you'll never leave me, Percy," I mumbled on his shoulder.

"I swear upon the river Styx, that I won't leave you alone again," Percy vowed.

"That's a promise you can't break," I said, pulling back.

"I know. I'm not intending to," he said and brushed my cheek. His face was so close to mine. I could feel his breath on my face.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me:

"Annabeth Chase. We need to talk. Now."

My mother.

I jumped off Percy's bed to face a furious goddess of wisdom, who motioned me to follow her outside Percy's cabin. When she'd led me so far, that there was no way Percy could hear us, my mother turned to face me, her expression furious.

"I had heard, that you have been having a hard time, because of your... friend. I came to see if you're feeling any better and what do I find? My daughter is _cuddling _with a son of Poseidon on _his_ bed!" Athena raged. "I have already told you, that I don't approve your friendship with him, but this is absolutely out of order!"

"But mom-," I tried to explain, but she wouldn't let me speak.

"Don't you 'mom' me! I thought we had talked this clear!" she went on. "_My_ daughter snuggling with a son of _Poseidon!_" She spat the word 'Poseidon'. "I just can't condone this."

She was so mad. I just watched her storm in front of me. I had never seen her that angry and mind you, I've seen her mad lots of times.

"Now, I want you to explain. The excuse is better be impressive," Athena finally stopped yelling.

I really didn't know what to say. The truth, that I was in love with Percy, would make her kill him. And then me. Then again, I didn't have any other answer.

"The thing is, mom, that I like Percy. Very much. And I know you know it perfectly well," I said. "When I thought he was dead I wasn't able to live normally, as I suppose you've heard."

"Yes, Chiron told me about your bad condition. But that's not an excuse to betray your family," mom snapped. I tried again.

"We've been friends for so long, mom. I have grown to like him. It's done and can't be changed." I snapped my mouth shut. Athena stared me, her eyes open wide.

"Are you telling me, that you won't do what I tell you to? You are so-"

"In _love, _mother!" I interrupted her.

"LOVE?" mom shrieked. I watched her face to change color from white to red via green and blue. If gods could have an aneurysm, my mother would definitely have one now. Then she said:

"I have to run. Zeus said I couldn't stay long. He wants to talk. But we, little missy, we are not done. I will be back. Meanwhile keep your hands off that son of Poseidon."

Then she vanished. I was left alone, staring at my hands. _Keep your hands off that don of Poseidon,_ my mom had said. I couldn't believe it.

_That's what you get, _a voice said in my head. _When you don't plan everything beforehand._

"Shut up!" I snapped at my thoughts. Then again, it was true. I was a daughter of Athena. I will thrive if I plan everything. I had always relied on my head instead of my heart. Now I felt like I didn't know what to do. I felt lost. And what in Hades would I tell Percy? _I'm sorry, Percy, but we just can't be even friends anymore, because my mother went nuts when I told her I was in love with you. I really am sorry._ No way.

What should I do?

**Percy's POV**

This is just my luck. I had just sworn upon the river Styx, that I would never leave my Wise Girl. Then just out of nowhere BOOM! Lady Athena comes in and wants to talk with Annabeth. She had no other option, than to leave me alone on my bed. I watched her follow her mother out of my cabin, closing the door behind them. I lounged myself on my back. I stared the ceiling, gathering my thoughts. I was slightly mad at Athena. She'd interrupted our moment together. I'd been hoping for that moment since I'd woken up in the big house basement. I needed her to know how much she meant to me. This night had come in perfectly.

Suddenly a voice woke me up from my thoughts.

"It seems to me, that you are doing some major thinking there."

I sat up, startled. Poseidon was standing next to my bed.

"Yeah, I was actually," I said.

Why was he here? Annabeth's mom had just been here and she'd taken Annabeth with her. Now my father was interrupting my thoughts. I could sense something fishy going on. **(Haha, fishy. It's funny, because Percy's dad is a sea god. Lol.)**

"Won't you ask your old man to sit down?" my dad asked.

"Oh, yeah. Do sit down." I motioned towards an armchair next to my bedside table.

Poseidon sat down and looked at me, studying my expression.

"I've heard there's something going on between you and your friend Annabeth," he finally said.

Shit, so _that's_ why he'd come. Who had told on us? There was only one person (well, person in a certain form) I could think of.

"Yes, I suppose what you've heard is true," I nodded slightly. My father looked taken aback. I suppose he hadn't thought the rumors were true.

"Perseus Jackson, I don't know what to say," Poseidon said. I shrugged.

"Whatever you may say, it's still true. I just hope you'll try to live with it," I said.

"You do understand, that it's a daughter of Athena we're talking about, right?" my dad asked, his tone hard. I nodded and dropped my eyes to my hands. I couldn't look at Poseidon. His eyes had gone the same color the sea went just before a huge storm.

"I know just who she is, father," I said.

"Yet you insist on being friends with her and maybe want even more?" he asked.

"Yes." I glanced at my father. His face was weirdly calm. How could it be? Everyone knows my father has a bad temper. Just like me. My bad temper had caused me to attack Kottos and spend the following days unconscious. _The temper of the ocean._ That's it! That's what the Oracle had meant. I just wished I'd get over with this and could tell the others.

"I can't accept that! I've tried to be reasonable, I've let you be friends with her, but this is out of question!" Poseidon said. I said nothing. I was afraid I'd start yelling at him and cause him to turn me into a slipper animalcule or something.

"Why do you insist on doing against as you're told?" my dad asked.

"There's no way to rein the ocean in," I said. "And because I'm in love with Annabeth."

"I see..." muttered Poseidon. I stared at him, my face hard. I wanted him to understand, that there was no way around the fact I'd fallen in love with Annabeth.

"Perseus," my father said and came to sit next to me on my bed. "I understand there's a romance going on."

He understood? I hadn't got a clue it would be so easy!

"But end it now." Poseidon stood up and faced me.

"I can't. I swore upon the river Styx," I said.

"I must go now, Zeus wants to speak with all of us, but remember what I said. Goodnight, Perseus," my father said and walked out of my cabin.

Oh, Styx. I just couldn't believe my bad luck. First Athena, now Poseidon! The next one coming around would probably be Aphrodite, who'd give me the crap of being incapable of kissing Annabeth. I really hoped I'd get to spend the rest of the day alone or with Annabeth if she'd come back. I'd had my share of gods for tonight.

Then something occurred to me: what would I tell Annabeth? _I'm really sorry, but even though I swore upon Styx, my father wants me to leave you. So lets be just friends, okay? No, I don't think we can ever be really together, because gods are immortal and they would kill us..._ Hah! Yeah right. It would break my Wise Girl's heart.

I was woken up from my thoughts by the door of my cabin creaking open.

"Percy?" I heard Annabeth's voice calling me. Her face was chalk pale and she looked shaken. I stood up and walked to her.

"You okay? You should see your face," I said. I really didn't know how to be. Should I hug her? Should I not hug her? What should I do? Should I force her to leave? This was way too complicated.

"I'm okay... I guess," said Annabeth, though she didn't quite convince me.

"Did your mom give you a hard time?" I asked.

"It wasn't so bad..." she said, but didn't look me in the eyes. She was talking to my knees.

"Uh-oh, tell me everything," I said. I tried to take her hand in mine, but she pulled hers away.

"She was pissed to find us from each others arms," Annabeth mumbled, still obviously believing my knees could actually hear her.

"Ouch, tell me all the spine-chilling details," I tried to grin, but it was half-hearted.

"She told me to keep my hands off you," Annabeth said and finally looked at me.

"Wow, what happened to _you?_" she asked. "You look like you've just seen Mrs. O'Leary's evil twin!"

"My father dropped by to say hi," I said.

"What did _he_ say?" asked Annabeth.

"'I understand there's a romance going on...'" I started, mimicking my dad's voice, but Annabeth interrupted me.

"Wow, better than my mom."

"'But end it now,'" I continued with the Poseidon-voice.

"Aww, man! This is not my day!" Annabeth cried.

"That makes two of us," I mumbled. "But don't worry, Annabeth. We'll think of something and we will have it our way."

"You think so?" she asked.

"I know so, because you're too important for me to lose," I said, looking into her eyes. Her beautiful, stormy grey eyes.

I took one step closer to Annabeth. _Screw parents,_ I thought. I had waited this for years. I put my left hand on her waist. She tensed, but didn't pull back either. She might have been a bit confused. I brushed Annabeth's hair behind her ear with my free hand and left it on her cheek, cupping her face. I leaned closer to her. She placed her hands on my shoulders. I could feel her warm breath on my face. My head spun slightly.

"Percy! Annabeth! Oh!" someone shouted from the door. We quickly jumped apart.

"Oh, Hades!" I moaned. Grover was standing in the doorway, ogling us slightly embarrassed. I promised myself to kick his ass for this.

"I'm sorry... I didn't want to disturb you. I just... Well... There's someone, who wants to see you," he said, blushing.

"Who in Hades could it be now?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, I think it's better you come and see yourself," Grover said and we followed him outside.

He led us back to the bonfire, where people were still having fun. In the corner we could see someone eyeing us as Grover walked us toward him/her. As we walked closer I saw who the stranger was. And so did Annabeth. We glanced at each other.

"Holy shit!" Annabeth said.

"We could still run," I suggested.

"Too late," said Annabeth. We were standing in front of the stranger, who apparently wasn't a stranger at all.

Of course she would come. I _knew_ it! Why, _why_ did I have to be right? She opened up her arms smiling widely, baring a set of perfectly straight teeth and said:

"Oh, I'm so glad you came! I want to hear _everything_ about your little romance!"

I was so going to kill Grover.

* * *

**That was the 8th chapter of Come what may!  
Now, my dear people, I have some bad news: I may not be able to write in a month or so, because I'm traveling and I won't be able to update. I'll try to put up another chapter before I leave, but I'm not sure if I can. I'll also try to write while I'm away so that I can just write it on my computer and put it up when I come back. **

**Until then, Peace, love, PJO.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	9. So not our day

**Woohoo! I just graduated from elementary school! This will be the last chapter in a while, because like I said, I'm traveling. Our plane leaves tomorrow at noon and it'll take us to Portugal. Lovely. But before that, here's a chapter for you!**

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* * *

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**Annabeth's POV**

Aphrodite. Of all the gods I dislike! This sooo wasn't my day.

"Good evening, Lady Aphrodite," Percy said stiffly.

"No need to be so formal. Aphrodite will do," the goddess of love smiled. "Should we go somewhere... private?" She glanced at me.

"Errm... sure," I said.

We started to walk towards the beach. Percy and I were glancing at each other now and then, sharing confused and irritated looks. Aphrodite followed us, giggling whenever she saw Percy and I look at each other. Arrgh, I hate Aphrodite. When we reached the beach, we sat on a couple of rocks. Aphrodite ogled me and Percy like an alcoholic watches a bottle of wine. It was really annoying. I really didn't know how I should be.

"So... Why are you here, actually?" Percy asked after a humiliating minute had passed in silence.

"Do you even have to ask, Percy?" Aphrodite giggled. "I want to know about you two!"

Oh, Styx. I didn't want to tell Aphrodite about my love life. Thanks, but no thanks.

"Come on, you two! You are officially my favorite couple EVER!" the goddess of love shrieked. Yeesh, we were like a toy to this woman!

"Tell me, Annabeth, what was the first thing you thought when Percy said he'd fallen in love with you?" Aphrodite asked, her eyes piercing my soul. How did she even know about all this? Was she spying on us? Had she been watching Channel Hephaestus?

"I... don't know..." I mumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure you know! Don't be shy. This conversation is confidential. I love you two as a couple. I'm not going to tell anything to your parents!" said Aphrodite.

Yeah, right. Aphrodite is the all-time Miss Gossip.

"Well... I obviously was glad, because I like Percy too," I said. It wasn't quite true. The situation had been sad as ever, but hearing those words coming from Percy made it also the most perfect moment ever. I just didn't want to give too much information.

"I see... And Percy, how long have you been in love with Annabeth?" Aphrodite continued her interview.

"For very long time, that's all I will say," Percy said.

"I know a thing or two about that matter myself," Aphrodite grinned. "I met you when you were on a quest to save your girl, remember?" She elbowed Percy's ribs.

"What? Why haven't you told me, Percy?" I asked. What on earth was this?

"I'll tell you later," Percy told me, touching my hand.

"Oh, there's no need to do it later. I can tell it right now! I just told Percy how much I adored his obsession in saving you and I promised to make his love life interesting. Full of tragedy and indecision!" Aphrodite's eyes were gleaming as she said that. "You really need to thank me for that," she added, looking at Percy.

"Well, thank you, Aphrodite. I think I have had my share of tragedies," Percy muttered.

"Oh, you mean your parents? That makes this even more interesting! Star-crossed lovers, belligerent families... Oh, this is better than Shakespeare!" Aphrodite was excited.

If I wasn't afraid of insulting Aphrodite, I most certainly would have face palmed. This was absolutely ridiculous. I glanced at Percy. He looked irritated beyond words. He looked at me and I smiled.

"Aww, look at you two! You are so _cute! _Now I'm really going to cry!" shrieked Aphrodite.

"Oh, please don't," I said quickly. She looked at me and smiled.

"You're a lucky girl to get a guy like Percy, Annabeth," she said and stood up. "Now, I must leave you two lovebirds, but don't you worry, I'll be back to check on you!"

She waved at us and vanished in a flash of light. There was a moment of silence, before I broke it.

"I _hate_ that woman!" I said, standing up. Percy grinned at me.

"Yeah, she's so annoying!" he said and smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked. I didn't find anything funny in the visit of the goddess of love.

"It's just silly, that she really thinks love is perfect and a little tragedy really makes people happy," he said and took my hand.

We walked back to the bonfire, where the people were starting to leave and go to bed. Thalia and Grover were still there, sitting in a corner and talking to each other.

"I wonder when those two are going to realize they like each other," Percy said, grinning.

"Maybe someone should give them a little nudge?" I asked.

"Haha, maybe," he laughed. "But I think they should find out by themselves. It's much more _dramatic._" Ugh, that was a real Aphrodite-ish line.

Percy wrapped his arm around my waist. I couldn't help noticing how much the meaning of that gesture had changed. He'd done that many times before, but it had never felt like this. The gesture had always been friendly or comforting. Now there was a certain difference in the feeling. It was sweeter, more loving.

We walked to Grover and Thalia, who jumped when they saw us in front of them. I wondered what they'd been doing.

"What's up, guys?" Percy asked them.

"Nothing much, just... talking," Grover said, a tiny bit too quickly.

"What have you two been up to?" Thalia asked curiously.

"Aphrodite wanted to have a little chat," I said.

"What did you talk about?" Grover asked, trying to sound casual, though he was hiding a grin.

"Well, what do you expect of Aphrodite?" Percy grimaced.

Thalia laughed.

"Did you enjoy yourselves?" she snickered.

I rolled my eyes. Percy yawned. He'd been up so much today. He must be exhausted.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain, it's time for you to hit the sac!" I said and took Percy's hand.

"Aww," Grover and Thalia said in unison.

"You two are so cute," Grover marveled.

"I know, right?" Percy said. Aww, he'd said the same thing after our night in the tent.

"Yeah, yeah, Seaweed Brain, let's go get some sleep!" Thalia said and we started to walk toward the cabins.

We said goodnight to Thalia in front of Zeus' cabin. I noticed, that the hug Grover gave her lasted much longer than the ones Percy and I gave her. Grover left us in front of Poseidon's cabin and bolted toward cabin twelve. That left only me and Percy standing on Percy's doorstep.

"Well... goodnight, Wise Girl," Percy said. His eyes met mine.

"Night, Seaweed Brain," I answered and couldn't suppress a smile.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Nothing. I'm just happy you're able to hang with us again," I said.

"I'm happy about it, too." Percy smiled too. "Guess what, Annabeth?"

"What?"

"I figured out the 'temper of the ocean' part of the prophecy!" he said.

"Well? What did it mean? Why should I be afraid of you?" I asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"No need to be afraid, Wise Girl. It's just that my bad temper caused me to attack Kottos and end up in the infirmary," Percy explained.

"Hmm, I guess you're right," I said. I was proud of Percy. He'd learn to think. If my mom only knew how smart he could be... I sighed.

"What are you thinking about?" Percy asked.

"My mom," I said, laying my eyes on the ground.

Percy wrapped his arms around me and smoothed my hair.

"Don't think about it. I'm trying not to think of my dad too. We'll think of a way through this. You'll make the most awesome master plan ever and everything will end up fine," he whispered in my ear. I tried to believe him. He pulled back, looking into my eyes and stroked my cheek with his hand and left it there, cupping my face. My breath caught. Percy leaned forward.

"Goodnight, Annabeth," he whispered and his lips touched mine.

My head spun. His lips were soft and careful. I wrapped my arms around his neck, moving closer to him. Then, as quickly as it'd started, Percy pulled back. Stupid Seaweed Brain. I had just started to enjoy myself.

"Goodnight, Percy," I muttered and he walked inside his cabin, closing the door behind him, after looking at me softly.

I walked slowly to my cabin, where people were getting ready for bed. Jenny, my sister came saw me and came to ask me stuff about Percy's recovering. I suppose I was a bit woozy from Percy's kiss, because at first I couldn't understand her questions at all.

"What's up with you, Annabeth?" Jenny asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"I don't believe you..." she teased. "Tell me, what's going on?"

I sighed.

"Okay, come here." I motioned her to sit on my bed.

"If you tell anyone, I'll have some Ares' kids murder you, okay?" I said in a deadly tone.

"You can trust me, sis," Jenny said solemnly. "Bring it on!"

"Well... It's a long story, but the main point is, that I kinda like Percy. A lot," I said, not wanting to give her too much details.

Jenny's expression was unreadable. After a moment of silence she grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"Are you serious, Annabeth? I mean, he's a son of _Poseidon_ and everything!" she squealed.

"Shh, I don't want the others to know!" I hushed.

"Still, are you out of your mind?" she continued to shake me.

"No, I'm not. And don't _you_ start that. I already got my ass kicked by mom," I said.

"For a really good reason too! I don't mean that he ain't nice or anything, but still, he is a son of Poseidon. That's a good enough reason not to like him that much," said Jenny, finally letting go of me.

"Okay, I got the point," I snapped. "Now I'll go to bed. Goodnight." I shooed Jenny away from my bed and changed into my pajamas.

* * *

**Thalia's POV**

I lay on my bed, waiting for sleep to come. I thought of the conversation I'd had with Grover after Aphrodite had taken Percy and Annabeth to the beach. First we'd wondered what Aphrodite would have wanted of Annabeth and Percy. We knew she wanted some details of their relationship, but we'd been there when she'd come to see Percy, when we were on a quest to save Lady Artemis and Annabeth. There could have been something else. Then the topic changed to our interrupted camping out. We decided to give it another try, just somewhere else this time. Somewhere 100% safe. We'd wondered where that place would be and Grover had said, that he could do some research. We'd decided to ask Chiron about it too.

When I lay there, thinking about mine and Grover's conversation, I felt...weird. Like something was lightly tugging behind my navel. Minor butterflies in my stomach. It slightly frightened me. What was happening to me? This wasn't right. I was a hunter. I'd taken the oath. I'd turned my back on the company of men. Oh, Styx, this wasn't going well at all. I would start aging again if I fell in love with someone. I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let my lady Artemis down.

"Thalia," a voice called me from my door.

It was a voice I knew almost too well – my lady Artemis. I jumped up. Artemis was standing in the doorway, her silvery eyes glinting in the faint glow of the moon outside.

"Lady Artemis!" I bowed and walked toward her. She gave me a faint smile.

"I'm glad to see you're okay. I heard about the fight at Olympus," she said.

"Yeah, it was a tough one..." I started, but Artemis silenced me, raising her index finger.

"But I'm afraid seeing you is not the only reason why I'm here. I have come in serious business," she said, the faint smile vanishing from her face.

"You see, I can sense whenever a huntress of mine is moving further away," she said. Her eyes were piercing my skin, looking straight to my soul, as if looking the truth straight in the eyes. Now I knew why she'd come.

"Thalia, I want you to answer very clearly. Are or are you not falling in love with Grover Underwood?" Artemis asked.

"It's quite complicated... I'm not sure what it is..." I stammered.

"I see. I have come to remind you about the oath you have taken and the consequences if the oath is broken," Artemis said.

"I know. I know I have taken the oath and I won't let you down, my lady. Ever," I said hastily.

"Calm down, Thalia," Artemis soothed. "I just came to remind you about the key points of the oath. My hunters and I have been missing you, lieutenant."

Then she turned around and walked to the door.

"I must go back to my hunters. Remember what I said, Thalia," she said and walked out of my cabin, leaving a silvery glow behind her.

I walked back to my bed and collapsed on it. I had just been thinking about the oath and then Artemis comes and reminds me of it too. Still, I was confused. What should I do with Grover? What should I tell him? Should I just leave the camp and never come back? Would it make me forget about Grover and help me continue my life as a hunter or would it just crush me?

On those thoughts I finally fell asleep.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

I woke up and was a bit confused at first. I had got so used to sleeping in the infirmary, that it felt weird to wake up in my own cabin. I yawned. I was so, so tired! It was obviously because I'd had the longest walk since I'd woken up. I wanted to stay in bed, but I was anxious to see Annabeth. I jumped out of my bed and did a little victory dance. I had finally kissed her! The kiss had been short and testing, but still, it was a kiss. Wohoo! I got dressed, brushed my teeth and tried to smooth my hair, but it was still an arranged disarray on top of my head. I guess it would never be anything else than that.

When I was ready I made my way to the mess hall, where some of the campers were already having breakfast. I saw Grover sitting in the table twelve with Chiron and Mr. D. I said good morning to him and went to sit at my table. I grabbed a sandwich from a platter of a wood nymph who was walking past me. My eyes scanned the tables, looking for a certain Wise Girl. Then I saw her, sitting in her table, surrounded by her siblings. Sometimes I envied her for having so many brothers and sisters. In my cabin there was only me. And sometimes Tyson, when he visited from the army. So no wonder I sometimes felt a bit lonely. Then again, being the only demigod son of Poseidon had its privileges – I got to put the lights out whenever I wanted and I didn't have to take care of my younger siblings or anything.

Annabeth saw me looking at her and smiled. I grinned back at her, mouthing 'good morning'. She mouthed back. I saw her sister, Jenny scold at her. What was that all about? Hmm... Another good thing about the absence of siblings: no fighting among them.

Annabeth was soon finished with her breakfast and she started to leave the mess hall. I quickly swallowed the rest of my sandwich, almost choking at some point. Then I followed Annabeth out of the pavilion.

"Hey, Wise Girl! Wait up!" I yelled as I ran toward her. She turned and smiled.

"Morning, Seaweed Brain," she said in a soft tone when I reached her.

I pulled her in a warm hug. I didn't dare to do anything else. Not with all the people around. Her hair smelled like lemon soap again. One of my favorite scents in the whole wide world.

"Have you seen Thalia?" Annabeth asked.

That was a good question. I hadn't seen her this morning.

"No, I haven't seen her. I wonder where she might be," I said, pulling away from our embrace.

"Guys! Percy! Annabeth!" I heard Grover yell from behind us. He ran to us and asked about Thalia too. Apparently he hadn't seen her either. Where could she be?

We searched the camp grounds, from the beach all the way to Thalia's pine tree. Could it be possible that she was still in her cabin? She didn't usually sleep that long, but since we couldn't find her anywhere else, we decided to check her cabin too. So we walked to cabin one and peered inside.

Thalia was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at her feet.

"Thalia! We've been looking for you!" Annabeth shrieked and ran to her friend. Grover and I followed her. Annabeth sat on Thalia's bed and wrapped her arm around her.

"What's wrong?" she asked and looked at me and Grover with a time-for-girl-talk-go-away expression. We darted out of the cabin and left Annabeth alone with Thalia.

"What could've happened to her?" Grover wondered as we paced the field in the middle of the cabins.

"I don't know, but I just hope it's nothing serious," I said, though Thalia's expression had made it quite clear, that serious was a very good word for all of this.

Soon enough Annabeth and Thalia came out of cabin one. They looked like nothing had happened. Thalia was a bit quiet, but apart from that, she was back to normal. We had sword-fight practice, so we walked to the arena to find Nico fighting with Clarisse. The other campers watched them as they lunged and parried in a well memorized pattern. Soon Clarisse, who was swinging her sword aggressively, sent Nico's sword flying out of his hand. The audience applauded, including Thalia, Annabeth, Grover and I. Chiron told us all to divide in pairs and practice. Thalia wanted to practice with Annabeth, so that left me and Grover as my practice partner. I uncapped Riptide for the first time after the battle at Olympus. As the pen grew into a sword in my hand, I started to suspect there was something wrong. The sword felt awfully heavy and ill-balanced in my hand. I supposed it was because I was still weaker than I had been. But there was still something wrong. As I attacked Grover, he parried my strike with ease and in a matter of seconds his blade was at my throat. I had never lost a battle in this amount of time. It was like I'd completely forgotten how to fight. I felt weak and Riptide grew even heavier in my hand.

The following two hours were a nightmare. Grover sent Riptide flying from my hand time and time again, my defense sucked, my attack plan was predictable. I had completely lost my touch on sword-fighting.

After the practice the sound of the conch horn invited us to have lunch. Thalia and Nico were still allowed to sit with me at Poseidon's table. Grover sat at Dionysus' table and Annabeth sat with her siblings. I ate my lunch quickly, because I wanted to ask Annabeth about Thalia. Annabeth and I finished almost at the same time and we walked out of the pavilion together.

"How was practice?" Annabeth asked.

"I sucked. My skills have got rusty," I muttered. "You?"

"I sucked too. I couldn't get a grip on my thoughts," she said.

"What was wrong with Thalia?" I asked, looking at Annabeth. She hesitated and then said:

"Well... She's a hunter, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked, wondering what that was about.

"And if a hunter falls in love with... I don't know... for example a satyr named Grover..." Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, I see," I said. Of course. I hadn't given that much thought, but it was true. If Thalia fell in love with Grover, she would have to leave the hunters. The last few days had been one big roller coaster of emotions. And relationships. Thank the gods, we would play capture the flag tonight. That would get my thoughts off relationship stuff.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

After dinner my siblings and I carried Athena's flag to the Mess Hall. From the opposite side, Apollo's kids were carrying their banner (gold with paintings of a lyre, bow and a laurel tree). Athena's cabin was accompanied by Dionysus', Poseidon's and Hermes' cabins. The others were on Apollo's side. Chiron made his speech about the rules. It was always the same, so I didn't pay much attention.

We armed ourselves and Malcolm led our team to the forest. Soon I realized something was wrong. It was just the same as it had been in sword-fighting practice. I couldn't get a grip on my thoughts. This was usually the time, when I made a plan, which would lead us to victory. Now, I couldn't concentrate on anything. It was frustrating. I felt dumb. I caught up with Percy, who was running a few meters ahead. He looked concerned.

"What's up, Seaweed Brain?" I asked him.

"I'm not feeling so well... But I'm okay," he said.

I was placed in border patrol, accompanied by Percy and a guy from Dionysus' cabin. I recalled his name was Jack.

The conch horn blew and we heard the people in the front line attack each other. Usually I was thrilled about the fight, but now I was just concerned. Why couldn't I concentrate on thinking? I looked at Percy. He wasn't looking too good.

"Percy, should you go to the water? You look awful," I said, motioning toward the creek.

"No, no. I'm fine, I'm fine," Percy said. Who did he think he was kidding? Even a blind man could see he wasn't okay.

Suddenly a bunch of Ares' kids were running toward us, their swords up. I recognized Clarisse in the front.

"Get them!" Clarisse yelled and they charged at us.

A huge boy swung his sword at me, but I parried it and charged. Then suddenly my mind went blank. I couldn't think at all. I wasn't able to prepare for the Ares' kid's next move, nor plan mine. I was stunned by the feeling of inability and I was disarmed. I saw Percy swing Riptide at Clarisse, who'd taken him as her goal. His moves were predictable and feeble. Soon enough, Percy's sword fell to the ground. I saw him gathering his strength to call the water from the creek. He raised his hands and furrowed in concentration. Nothing happened. Percy was thunderstruck. He looked at me, his expression full of disbelief with a hint of fear. What was happening to him?

"Hahaha! Not so powerful anymore, huh, punk?" Clarisse laughed and she and her siblings took care of Jack. We had lost the game.

I saw, that the whole Apollo's team had come to watch Ares' kids defeat us. Thalia and Nico watched us, their eyes wide with disbelief.

After Chiron had declared Apollo's team as winners, I wanted to have a shower and a good night's sleep. I headed toward the cabins. Soon I got company from Nico, Thalia, Percy and Grover.

"What happened back there?" Thalia asked Percy. He frowned.

"I don't know. I didn't get any contact with the water at all. It didn't obey me," he said. "It seemed to me, that you had some problems too, Annabeth," he changed the subject and looked at me.

"I couldn't concentrate at all. My mind went blank and I wasn't able to plan the attack. It was terrible!" I said.

I was devastated. After all, I was a daughter of Athena. I was supposed to be smart. Thinking was my strength. Now, that I couldn't think, I didn't feel like myself at all.

"What is happening to us?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know. I really don't," Percy said and wrapped his arm around my waist. "But we'll figure it out, okay?" he continued.

There was so many things to figure out. Our parents, Thalia's problem, our vanishing powers... I couldn't see how we ever could solve our problems. Still, I nodded and said:

"Yeah, we'll figure it out."

"Maybe you should ask Chiron?" Thalia suggested.

That was true. Maybe Chiron would have a clue of what is going on. He was old and wise. We decided to ask him in the morning.

When we reached the cabins I nearly had a heart attack – my mother was standing next to a greek statue with (believe it or not) Lord Poseidon. This could only mean one thing. We were screwed.

"I...don't want to bother anyone, so... I think I'll just go..." Grover trailed off and ran to Dionysus' cabin.

"Good evening, dad, Lady Athena," Percy bowed. Nico and Thalia were glancing at each other and us.

"Good evening, Perseus," Lord Poseidon said. My mom snorted.

"I'm not sure if the evening is good, but it certainly is an evening. The boy's got brain after all," she ragged.

I wanted to punch the living daylights out of her, but that wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, so instead I said:

"Good evening, mother."

Athena scowled at me.

"Evening, Annabeth," she said half-heartedly.

"Children, we have come in a serious business," Poseidon said. He eyed both of us.

If only they'd be in a better mood! We could ask them about our missing powers. After all, they were gifts from our parents.

"We visited you both last night and told you to keep away from each other," said Poseidon.

"But did you listen?" Athena added, glaring at us. "I don't think so. And every family rule broken has its consequences."

"Calm down, Athena. They need to be explained," Poseidon snapped at my mom.

"Have you experienced something rather strange lately?" he asked then.

"Well... If you consider our powers suddenly disappearing strange, then yeah," Percy said.

"Yes, I definitely consider it strange," Poseidon nodded. "You see, like Athena just said, families have certain rules. Especially godly families. You should never mess with us. We asked you a simple favor. You two know perfectly well about our... hmph... relationship."

"Just get to the point, Barnacle Beard. I don't want to spend the night here with _you,_" Athena interrupted.

"Stop nagging, woman!" Poseidon snapped and then continued:

"You didn't obey the rules, there will be consequences."

So _that's _what this is about!

"What can we do to get our powers back?" I asked.

"I think you know the answer already," said Poseidon.

"At least you should be clever enough to know," mom snapped.

"I'm not sure, because I'm only _average_ now that you've taken my powers away!" I said back.

"Calm down, Annabeth," Percy whispered and touched my hand. His touch soothed me.

"So, I guess that's all," Poseidon said, looking at Athena.

"Yes. I don't have anything more to say," she said.

"If you ever feel like doing what's right instead of easy, give Hermes a call," said Poseidon.

Then they vanished, leaving a business card behind. Percy picked it. It was Hermes'. Thalia and Nico were too shocked to say anything.

The pressure of our parents had been too much for me. I broke into sobs. Percy pulled me in a comforting hug.

"Shh, it's okay, Annabeth. Please don't cry," he said and kissed the top of my head.

"This is just too much... I can't stand being apart from you," I sobbed in his chest.

"You don't have to be. I promised I won't leave you. I swore it upon the river Styx," Percy said, hugging me even tighter, which I was very glad of.

"I know, Percy," I sighed.

When we finally pulled apart Percy's closeness had calmed me down. Thalia and Nico had stayed there and watched us in silence.

"I'm so sorry for you two. I just wish there was a way to help," Thalia said. Nico nodded solemnly.

"Thanks, guys, but I don't think there's anything you can do," said Percy.

I just couldn't believe this. Our parents had taken our powers away, because we were in love. That would mean, that we were mere mortals now. We probably couldn't read Ancient Greek anymore. We weren't dyslexic. We didn't have ADHD. All of our battle reflexes had disappeared. I had a bad feeling about all of this.

"Help! I'm trapped into a terrifying nightmare and I can't wake up!" I said and hung my head.

"Should I sing you to sleep again?" Percy asked. It would be awesome, but I had a feeling, that my siblings wouldn't actually like it it Percy would come to our cabin and we'd cuddle on my bed. Hah! That was so _not_ going to happen!

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain, but I don't think my siblings will allow it," I said and kissed the tip of his nose.

"Awww," Thalia and Nico sighed. I stuck my tongue out at them. They grinned.

"You two deserve each other. Your parents will soon realize it too," Nico said. "But now I'm going to hit the sac, so goodnight!" He walked to his cabin.

"Yeah, goodnight. I suppose I should go and give my siblings another reason to hate me..." I said.

When my siblings would find out about the loss of my powers, they most certainly would go all 'told you so' and 'you deserve it'. Ugh.

"Goodnight, Annabeth," Percy said and hugged me again. I had waited for a goodnight kiss, but a hug would do.

"Night, Thalia," I said and walked to my cabin. I was glad about the fact, that no one came to ask me about getting our asses kicked in 'capture the flag'. I went straight to the shower and then to bed. Just before I fell asleep, I made a silent plea to any of the gods, who would listen.

_Please, help us._

_

* * *

_

**Now, it's my time to say goodbye to you, people! But just for a little while. I'll be back with new tricks in my sleeve! Until then,**

**Peace, love, PJO.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	10. We all need a break

**Hi guys! Long time, no AC! It's time for my 10th chapter! Party time! Dionysos has brought some balloons. :) Now, enjoy the chapter. I know you have waited for it!**

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* * *

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**Annabeth's POV**

The days at camp passed. It was just the normal training, eating in the pavilion with the others, bonfire every evening at the amphitheater led by the Apollo cabin. But for me and Percy-pure Hades. Because we really sucked at everything. Percy would be defeated by a ten-year-old, to whom he was trying to teach the basics of swordplay. He'd started to avoid any place near water, because the water would always attack him and leave him soaking wet, his mouth full of seaweed and little fish. I couldn't concentrate on battle strategies. My work with my knife was useless. All of the knowledge in using a dagger as a weapon seemed to have run away of mu head, leaving me alone with random thoughts I couldn't gather. I was frustrated beyond measure and I had taken a manner of running to my cabin after every training session, lay on my bed and cry. Percy used to follow me, but my siblings never let him in, so he didn't even bother to try anymore.

"You've done enough damage to this cabin, Jackson," I'd heard my brother Malcolm say to him.

I didn't know why they acted so. Certainly not for my sake, I guess Jenny had told the others about what was going on between me and Percy, because their actions towards me had changed humongously. I ate at Athena's table, but no one ever spoke to me. It was like I was air to them. No, on the other hand, I was like a pile of dung. My sisters would scowl at me whenever they walked past me, like I was something really nasty and smelled like it too. My brothers just pretended I didn't exist. Percy and I hadn't told people about the visit of Athena and Poseidon. The only ones who knew the whole story were Thalia and Nico. Grover knew they'd visited, but he didn't exactly know what had happened. We wanted as few as possible to know about it, so we hadn't told Grover yet. He did suspect something, though, with his emotion reading and the empathy link between him and Percy. I supposed we'd need to tell him soon enough. His guesses had been quite close.

Of course, our not-so-good performances in training hadn't remained unnoticed – Percy, who'd already been unfriendly with Clarisse, got stupid comments from a sneering bunch of Ares' kids almost every hour. No one wanted him in their team in 'Capture the flag' anymore, so after a while, Chiron had to force the Hermes cabin to take him. Percy was always put on border patrol with many others, just so he had nothing to do.

Same things applied to me. I wasn't wanted. I ran border patrol with other lousy guys and beginners. Ugh. We both really started to hate friday nights. Even our favorite game had turned into a nightmare.

We didn't have much time for ourselves, just the two of us. Somehow things just went that way. There would always be someone or something, that kept us from being alone. I suppose our parents had something to do with it. The only time we had for ourselves was a ten minutes before lights out. Then we went through a pattern, that repeated itself every night – we told each other about our day (how it had pretty much sucked), asked some questions, like how the other was doing. The conversation was always the same. After the lame 'how's your day been'- convo, we only had a few minutes before lights out, so Percy would just hug me and we'd say goodnight. Then we would rush to our cabins and soon face another day of extreme irritation and humiliation.

Of course, Thalia and Nico were there if we ever wanted a break. Thalia and I took long walks around the camp and Percy and Nico did some guy stuff. I guessed Nico was trying to teach Percy how to shadow-travel, because he had mentioned something like it in one of our quick conversations and he was always bruised after his and Nico's guy sessions.

I was thankful to our couple therapists, as Thalia and Nico called themselves, but it still wasn't the same as to be with Percy. I found myself longing for his company, wanting to feel his arms around me, his voice in my ear. His smile, laughter, jokes – his goofy self. I missed my friend, which was what he'd been for me for many years. I also missed the feeling of his lips against mine. They'd been soft and careful, experimental. I knew we both were new in the kissing thing, bot in my opinion, Percy was a natural. I was eager for some more.

But even more than that, I wanted to sort things out with everybody – my siblings, other friends, Percy and our parents. Not in that particular order, but still. I knew that was a long shot, but life just wasn't as fun now, that I'd messed things up with everyone. The problem was, that I didn't regret a single moment I'd spent with Percy. I had realized, that he was too important for me to lose, even if there were consequences, and I hated the fact that we were been torn apart like this. I just hoped I could get my head work, because there was so much left on Daedalus' laptop for me to study and, although I wanted to be with Percy, I still had the ambition of becoming an architect. I wanted to study, get a college degree and then design something huge, just like the Gateway Arch or Hoover's dam. But there was no way, if I wouldn't get my head straight. I needed my power of wisdom.

* * *

**Thalia's POV**

The following weeks were heinous. It was so hard to be around Annabeth and Percy those days, but especially Annabeth needed me so much, that I couldn't possibly say no. Both of them were miserable. They tried to act normal, but you didn't need an empathy link to see something was dead wrong. Grover was getting suspicious. Only Nico and I knew the reason behind Poseidon and Athena's little visit at camp. Believe me, it was really hard to keep that from Grover.

I wished I could do something to help the poor lovebirds. I needed something to do. I still hadn't forgotten about the reminder Artemis had given me. So, I guess all of this had come in quite handy, because I had to be there for Annabeth, with whom I took long walks almost every day, and so I wasn't able to think about my own problems so often. I guess being a therapist did me some good.

But Annabeth wasn't there at night. Then, I lay on my bed and thought about Grover. What should I do? I didn't know. I had pledged myself to Artemis. She had made me her lieutenant. I didn't want to disappoint her. But then there was Grover. Grover with his reed pipes and huge appetite. And that silly bunny phobia of his. The way he loved nature above all else.

I was so fond of him. He'd been my friend since I was twelve. I owed him much.

So what should I do? Forget Grover or disappoint my lady Artemis? Because I didn't want to be in the middle for much longer. I felt like my heart was torn in two. Bigger part of me wanted to stay with Artemis, but the smaller part, the one, that wanted me to choose Grover, was getting angrier by the day.

Another question: who could I talk to? I couldn't dare to disturb Annabeth even more. She had too much in her mind already. Percy was in the same situation, so I didn't want to talk to him either. And, besides, he was a boy and this was definitely girl stuff. So that excluded Nico too. Grover himself? No way. So who? Sometimes I felt like I would explode any minute if I wouldn't talk to someone pretty soon. I knew I'd have to make the decision someday. I just could use a little advice first.

One day I wondered, what everyone I knew would say – Aphrodite would tell me to go for Grover, of course. She absolutely hated us hunters for letting go of men. My father, Zeus, would probably be okay with anything. I guessed he'd prefer me to stay with the hunters. After all, I'd achieved much. Nico knew nothing about love problems, so he'd tell me to stay with the hunters. He wasn't into love stuff that much. Percy would ask me, how I felt about it. He'd let me decide for myself. He wouldn't be any help. I thought Annabeth would do the same. Or maybe she'd say Grover. After all, she was about to join the Artemis, but wouldn't because she didn't want to leave Percy. She had a big heart, Annabeth.

* * *

A couple days later I was walking along the canoe lake. I was alone this time. I'd just had archery practice and I was waiting for the others to finish their activities. So, as you may guess, now that I was alone, I had time to think again. I really needed a holiday. The Bahamas or something. Somewhere I could just throw my worries away. I couldn't go back to Artemis before I'd made up my mind. Maybe Annabeth would come away with me if I asked? And Percy too, if we could work that out. Then I remembered: our camping out had been interrupted by the nasty Hundred-handed ones, who'd almost killed Percy. Perhaps we could carry on with the camping out? Grover had promised to see if there was some cool place where we could go. Shit, here came the problem again. What to do with Grover? It wouldn't be the same if he wouldn't come, but how could I be able not to think about him if he was right there?

Suddenly Annabeth was by my side.

"Hey Thals!" she said. Her hair was damp, so I supposed she'd just come from practice.

"Hey Annabeth," I greeted her and smiled. "Getting any better with your knife?" I asked.

Annabeth shook her head.

"No, I still suck. Every time I try to plan my moves my head goes all fuzzy. No use," she said.

I patted her shoulder.

"You'll figure it out sooner or later," I comforted her.

Since there was just the two of us there, I decided to ask Annabeth about my idea of continuing our camping out.

"That's a wonderful idea!" she shrieked when I explained my plan to her. "Who else is coming?" she asked then. Uh-oh.

"Yeah... That's the point. I don't know who I should invite, because I'd really want some time without constant worrying about the Grover-thing, you know," I said. Annabeth nodded.

"Yeah, I understand," she said. "Have you planned to ask anyone else?"

"Oooh, you mean anyone else, like Percy?" I teased. She elbowed my ribs, but I could see her blush.

"But just for you to know, I have thought about inviting Percy too. I'm just worried about hurting Grover's feelings," I said.

"Girls! Wait up!" I heard Grover yell behind us.

"Speaking of the goat..." I mumbled. Annabeth smiled encouragingly.

We turned to see Percy and Grover run/trot toward us. Percy's camp T-shirt had bad black spots on it. So, they'd been doing some wall climbing. About ten meters before reaching us, Percy stopped, eyeing the water of the lake suspiciously. Grover stopped between us and Percy, glanced behind him at Percy and then trotted back to him. Annabeth and I glanced at each other and then walked to them. Annabeth walked straight into Percy, buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around his waist. Percy rested his forehead on her head.

"Hey, Annabeth," he murmured.

"Hi," Annabeth said and looked up at Percy's face. Percy smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.

I glanced at Grover. As an emotion-reader, he was all fuzzy now, that so much emotion was going on right under his nose. He must've noticed I was looking at him, because he turned to watch me with a defensive expression on his face.

"What? Even _you_ can't say, that these two aren't cute! I'm not Aphrodite, but I really think I'm going to cry," Grover said.

I turned to watch Annabeth and Percy. There was no one else in sight and these two were really taking the best of it. Percy was just stroking Annabeth's face, whispering something I couldn't hear clearly, but it sounded like Ancient Greek. As well I could see, Annabeth had turned into a human waterfall. Their gazes were locked, as if there were only them in the world. I understood them perfectly – they didn't get much time just for themselves.

"Oh, hey! Guess what, Thalia?" Grover said suddenly.

Not a minute too early. I was starting to drift in a dream, where I was doing stuff like these two lovebirds with Grover. The Grover-part of me was tugging in my stomach. I shuddered the disorienting thoughts away.

"What?" I asked and looked at Grover.

"Chiron has me a job. I'm needed in a school. There is some demigod, who needs to be transported safely here," he said, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

Aww, crap. This would mean, that he wouldn't be able to come camping with... A-ha! Problem solved! Thanks, Chiron!

"That's great, Grover!" I shrieked. "You've been dying for a gig!"

Then I hesitated. How could I tell him we're going to go camping while he'll be working?

"There's something bothering you, I can tell," Grover said. "Mind telling me what it is?"

Annabeth and Percy saved me from the hot spot.

"You see, G-man," Percy said. "We've been acting a bit weird lately."

"Oh, I know," Grover said. "It's about your parents' visit the other day, right?" His tone was a bit bitter.

"Yeah, you see, we wanted as few as possible to know, but they were actually the ones who took our powers away," Annabeth said quickly.

"I see," said Grover. "You could've told me earlier, though. I was worried sick!" he bleated.

Percy patted Grover's back.

"I'm sorry, G-man. We just didn't want to draw extra attention on us," he said.

Grover went silent. I could tell he was thinking.

"You two really need a break," he said, looking at Annabeth and Percy.

"True," I went along. This was going better than I thought!

"Hey! How about we took a little holiday? When Grover leaves camp it wouldn't be the same anyway," Percy said. Wow, what a mind reader that boy is!

"That's a marvelous idea, Seaweed Brain!" I said. Percy, Annabeth and I eyed Grover. I prayed to my father, that this wouldn't hurt Grover's feelings.

My worries were unnecessary – soon Grover's smile grew even wider.

"You do that! You are really in a need of a holiday," he bleated.

"Wohoo!" Annabeth yelled. I felt a jolt of happiness in my stomach. I hadn't seen Annabeth get enthusiastic about anything since she and Percy had lost their powers. I hoped this would be a sign about things getting better.

"Okay, people. Let's ask Chiron!" I declared and so we darted towards the Big house. Grover came with us, just to give us some ideas of where to camp.

"Hey, what about Maine? Maine is very nice this time of the year," he blabbered.

"Why do I get the impression, that I have heard something like that before?" Percy asked. Annabeth chuckled. I looked at her interrogatively. She smiled at me.

"A private joke. I'll tell you the whole story someday," she whispered.

Chiron took our little plan quite well. He was all thumbs-up for us taking a little break. Apparently he had noticed Annabeth's and Percy's poor performances. Mr. D. on the other hand wasn't so pleased.

"This is against our camp rules and everything, although I couldn't care less about the rules. The rules of this camp are only made to protect these brats from harm. Bah! But this is not even a quest!"

"Now, now, Dionysos. They are not going that far. Nothing could possibly happen. Besides, Thalia will be there," Chiron soothed him.

Mr. D. mumbled something unintelligible about over-eager brats and suicide missions, but in the end, he let us go.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Packing didn't take us long. I just rushed to my cabin, threw some clothes, my sleeping bag and a flask of nectar and some ambrosia cubes in my backpack. I tied a bandana around my head and I was ready for some hardcore camping. I tied my hiking boots loose on my feet and lulled outside, where Annabeth was already waiting for me by the hearth of Hestia. Thalia and Grover were kneeling on the ground, crouching over a map. Grover had convinced Thalia to take us to Sourland mountain, a ridge in New Jersey. Not too far away from camp, but still far enough to get that away-from-home-outdoors-feeling.

"Hi, Percy," Annabeth greeted me as I reached them.

Yet again, she was breathtakingly beautiful. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts (and when I say shorts, I mean really, really short shorts), which revealed her long and beautiful legs, and her camp T-shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail, just like always. My gods, how beautiful can a girl be. I could just stand there and look at Annabeth the whole day. The most disturbing thing were those shorts. And her legs. Her beautiful, long, tanned legs. Whenever I caught a glimpse of them I got this feeling in my gut. Same sort of tugging as when I called the water to respond, but a bit different. I _loved_ this girl. I w_anted_ her.

"What are you ogling at, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. She tilted her head to the side a bit.

I couldn't answer. I was afraid I would say something unintelligible, like 'uhm gah' or something.

"Nothing," I finally managed to say. "You just look very nice."

Annabeth blushed and dropped her gaze to the ground.

"Errm... You too, Percy," she mumbled.

Thalia and Grover stood up from the ground.

"Okay, lovebirds," Thalia said, trying to use her lieutenant voice, but it was half-hearted. She glanced at Grover. Grover opened up his arms.

"Don't I get a goodbye hug?" he asked.

Ouch, I could see indecision in Thalia's eyes when she slowly walked to Grover and gave him a quick hug. After that, Grover pulled Annabeth into a hug and patted me on the shoulder and told to keep my eyes open. Then we lifted our backpacks on our backs and we were off. Grover walked with us up to the Half-Blood Hill, where Argus was waiting for us, ready to give us a ride to a bus station. When we climbed on top of the hill, we saw a shorter figure standing next to Peleus the dragon, who was guarding Thalia's pine tree and the golden fleece, that hung on its branch. In the afternoon sun the person's hair shimmered red like fire.

"Is that..." Annabeth started, but she never got to finish her question, because the red-haired person ran to meet us yelling:

"Percy! Annabeth!"

That's right. It was Rachel.

"Hey, Rachel!" I greeted her as she ran to us, pulling me into a big hug. I saw Annabeth's expression turn darker. She was so adorable when she was jealous. Man, I wanted to kiss her then, but I didn't have the guts. Not with everybody watching, especially Rachel. Rachel pulled away and moved to hug Annabeth, Thalia and Grover as well.

"How are you, guys?" she asked. "And where are you going?" She eyed our camping gear eagerly.

"We're... um..." I mumbled.

"We're just fine, thanks," said Annabeth.

"We're going camping," Thalia said happily. Annabeth glowered at her. I wondered what her problem was. It was just Rachel, after all. She should know better than to be jealous. My affection belonged to Annabeth and Annabeth only. She held my heart and her hold was permanent.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Having fun at the upper-class school?" I grinned at her. She stuck her tongue at me.

"You know how much I _adore_ Clarion Academy, Percy," she said. "And why I'm here? I just felt like..." she couldn't finish her sentence. Instead she shuddered and her eyes turned a shocking shade of green.

"Oh, no! No, no, no!" Thalia yelled.

Rachel turned to face Thalia, opened her mouth and when she spoke, it was like five Rachels were speaking in a chorus.

"_The journey with three heroes will start.  
A quest, that will test brain, soul and heart.  
The tough desicion must be made,  
Power for love the gods will trade.  
Yet again I'll speak a warning:  
The quest will end with grief and mourning."_

Rachel's knees buckled. I caught her just before her head hit the ground. I set her down on the grass. Soon Rachel partly opened her eyes. They weren't green anymore. Her breathing was feeble.

"We need to carry her somewhere to rest," I said.

No one made a move to help her. I dropped my backpack to the ground and pulled Rachel up. She couldn't stand on her own, so I scooped her up in my arms and started walking toward the Big house. Man, was she heavy! Behind us I heard the others drop their backpacks and run behind us.

"You need help, Perce?" Grover asked and trotted by my side.

"No, I'm fine," I said.

Thalia and Annabeth came to my other side. Annabeth quickly came really close to my side, so that her hand touched my body now and then. Wherever she touched me, those places left tingling, yearning for more of her touch.

I carried Rachel all the way to the Big house, where Chiron and Mr. D. were still sitting on the porch. When Chiron saw us, he stood up.

"Is that our young oracle miss Dare?" he asked as we arrived at the porch.

"It sure is," Grover said. "And she has given us another prophecy."

Chiron raised his eyebrows.

"Has she now? What did she say?" he asked.

We all turned to watch Thalia. For me, it was kinda difficult; I was still holding Rachel and there was still a very clinging Annabeth stuck to my side.

"She said something about a quest, that will test our mind, soul and heart. Then..." Thalia said, but paused then. She looked at me and Annabeth. She was about to reveal our secret. I nodded. Chiron had the right to know.

"Then she said, that the gods would trade Annabeth's and Percy's powers if they gave up their love for each other," Thalia continued, now talking to Chiron's front legs.

"I see," Chiron said. "So that's what has happened here." He looked at me and Annabeth.

"Yes, Chiron," Annabeth said.

"Was there something else, Thalia?" Chiron asked.

"Yes," Thalia said slowly. "She said, that this quest would end in grief and mourning."

I shuddered. What could possibly happen?

"I really hate to let you go now, that our friend miss Dare has spoken some words of the Spirit of Delphi," Chiron said. "You have been through so much. But a hero's fate is never happy and that's why I have to let you go."

Chiron took Rachel from my and carried her inside.

"Well, I suppose we'd better get going," Thalia mumbled.

"Yeah. Let's go," Annabeth said, though there was a frightened tone in her voice. A tone, which I hated. I hated to see her afraid of our fate. She was still stuck to my side, so I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"It's gonna be okay, Annabeth. Don't worry too much," I said, though I wasn't quite confident.

Grover said he'd stay at the Big house, so Thalia, Annabeth and I started to walk back towards Half-Blood Hill.

Then we heard a voice coming from behind us:

"Not so fast, guys!"

We turned around. Rachel was running to us. How did she get well so fast?

"What now, Rachel?" Annabeth asked. Her tone was almost evil.

It took a while for Rachel to catch her breath, but eventually she was able so say:

"Can I come with you?"

No one could tell her no, so...

"That settles it then!" Thalia said again in her lieutenant voice, which sounded more convincing this time.

We walked on top of Half-Blood Hill, where Argus was still waiting. He was scratching Peleus' chin. Our backpacks were still lying on the ground.

"Hey, Rachel. You don't even have a backpack!" I said, when we Argus opened the white SUV's trunk for our luggage. Rachel winked. I peered inside the trunk. There was a big, black backpack inside.

"But how..." I started, but Rachel interrupted me.

"I had foreseen, that I'd come with you, so I might've as well been well prepared," she said and shrugged.

Thalia ran for the front seat of the car and Rachel, Annabeth and I climbed in the back. Annabeth made sure, that I she was in the middle, so that Rachel was nowhere near me. Rachel didn't seem to mind. I wasn't sure if she even noticed Annabeth's behavior. Argus started the engine and we were off. I couldn't help wandering, what kind of trip this would turn into. Prophecies never sounded good to me.

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**Ooh man, I'm going through some crazy time, 'cause my family (and obviously me too) is moving from Finland to the United Arab Emirates. I'm in the middle of packing here :) But hey, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are very much appreciated. Athena's cabin wishes you an awesome day!**

**Peace, love, PJO**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	11. Fire

**Hey!  
Sorry for the delay. My internet was down for a couple of days, so I haven't been able to put on another chapter.  
But news for today: I actually went camping with my friend. It was awesome, except that there were like a million mosquitoes and I'm all itchy now. x) **

**Well, that's enough of me. The chapter is below. R&R!**

**

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Percy's POV**

Argus left us on the nearest bus station. From there we took a bus to Neshanic Station, New Jersey. On our way, we crossed this bridge, which I supposed was really impressive, because Annabeth went all nuts and jumped up and down on her seat babbling something about the bridge's architecture. I was anxious during the ride – I wondered, when the first monsters would attack us. When we arrived at Neshanic Station, I was relieved. We'd come this far without any interference from nasties. Wohoo!

It was a short walk to Sourland Mountain from Neshanic Station. It took only about an hour. Since we'd never been there before, we decided to walk around and look for a cool place to set our camp.

While walking in the woods, Annabeth appeared back to my side and wrapped her arm around my waist. I answered the gesture by wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"Hello there," I said and kissed her forehead. She looked at me, her beautiful gray eyes soft as ever.

"Hi," she said. "I'm so glad we're out of camp. It's much less irritating here," she mused and leaned her head on my shoulder. She sighed.

"Yeah..." I said.

I was a bit uneasy. Annabeth's head on my shoulder, her hair tickling my neck made me feel the same tugging feeling in my gut. It was more, than the same affection I'd had for her for years – it was something more powerful. And it frightened me a bit, because I had never felt like that before.

My pondering was interrupted by Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who came on the other side of me, the side without Annabeth.

"So, what have you been up to?" she asked. "I heard something about a riot on Olympus."

"Yeah, that's what we've been up to mostly," I said. I really hoped she wouldn't ask for any details, because I didn't want to tell Rachel about how I almost got killed and the stuff, that happened after it.

"I knew it!" Rachel said and then eyed both me and Annabeth. Uh-oh. Sometimes I hated the fact, that she was the new oracle.

"Oh, have you... errm... seen something?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"I saw something, all right," said Rachel, now staring only at Annabeth, who was looking ahead, away from her.

"May I ask what exactly?" I asked.

Suddenly Thalia came at Annabeth's side, took her hand and said, that she wanted to talk to her in private. Annabeth let go of me unwillingly and let Thalia tow her away. She glanced back at me. Her eyes were soft, the color of them smooth, like the silk banner she and her siblings carry when their cabin is in lead at 'Capture the flag'. My heart felt swollen, as I smiled at Annabeth. Swollen by all the emotion I held for her.

When Annabeth turned her head away, I looked at Rachel, who was gaping at me.

"Will you answer my question, Rachel?" I asked her.

"I saw you lying on a bed. First I thought you were asleep, but then there was Annabeth, who sat beside your bed with red eyes and I just knew you'd been hurt," she said, looking away of me.

I was interested on this subject, because I hadn't had any time to ask Annabeth, or anyone in that matter, about the time I was unconscious. Still, talking about it with Rachel Elizabeth Dare, made me feel uneasy. I knew she'd had a crush on me. I still wasn't sure if she'd gotten over it.

"So... you just saw Annabeth sitting there?" I asked, because even though I felt awkward, I wanted to know more.

"Mostly, yeah," Rachel said.

"Mostly? Was there something else?" I asked, suspicious. What had Rachel seen?

"She spoke to you, Annabeth," she said and looked at me again.

"Percy, you know I haven't been really good friends with Annabeth," said Rachel, her green eyes unsure. What was in her mind?

"Yeah..." I trailed. "What about it?"

"It's just, that I liked you very much and thought, that no one else could like you more, least of all Annabeth. I thought of her as a brainiac, with no ability to love anything more than books and stuff," she said slowly, turning her head away again.

"And?"

"When I had the vision about Annabeth talking to you..." she trailed. "It changed the way I saw her. What she said to you, when you were lying there was so... It can't be described in words. You've found a beautiful heart there, Percy."

I was thunderstruck. What could Annabeth have said, that was so awesome, that it made Rachel wordless? I _so _wanted to know.

"What did she say?"

Then we almost ran into Thalia and Annabeth, who had stopped abruptly.

"Hey! Why did you two st... AAGH!" Rachel yelped and stumbled backwards.

There was a very good reason, why they'd stopped: a few meters away, curled under a big oak tree was the Hydra.

Now, a few things about the Hydra.  
The Hydra is very easy to recognize by its heads. There are at least seven of them, all snakelike diamond shape, with rows of teeth like a shark's. Its body is about the size of a rhino. Oh and by the way, don't try to cut off its heads, because when you do, it will sprout two more and soon you'll have an angry, twenty-headed monster with an 'I'M A MONSTER DOUGHNUT KID!' plastic bib under each of its necks. I can tell you, the Hydra is some serious shit.

Annabeth and I had already met the Hydra once, when we were on a quest to save Grover from getting married to an ugly Cyclops (long story, I'll tell you someday). Then, we were saved by Clarisse, who'd come to help us with the quest with an ironclad named _CSS Birmingham_, which had a crew of Confederate army zombies. Now, I just hoped we could walk past the Hydra without waking it up, because there would be no one to save us now.

Thalia waved us to follow her. We crept past the Hydra. Unfortunately the path we were walking was covered with twigs. There was a big 'SNAP' as ten twigs snapped in two under my foot and we all gasped. The Hydra opened its eyes immediately. At least seven pairs of yellow, vile eyes were looking at us.

"RAWWWR!" the Hydra bellowed as it stood up and ran toward us. I uncapped Riptide, though I knew, that I wouldn't be much help in a battle. Annabeth drew her knife.

'Woosh!' an arrow flew at the Hydra and hit one of its eyes. The monster screamed in pain and one of its heads snapped at Thalia, who had put her bow down and drawn her spear. Thalia parried the Hydra's attack and the tip of her spear sank into the Hydra's flesh. In another wail of agony, three Hydra heads attacked together, throwing Thalia off balance. She fell to the ground.

"Hey! Ugly-ass!" I yelled at the monster and half its heads turned to glare at me.

"RAWWR!" the Hydra thundered and lunged at me. I would've been Hydra chow if Rachel hadn't tackled me to the ground and out of the monster's way. I landed on the ground with Rachel on top of me.

"Errm... Thanks," I said. I felt slightly awkward.

"When have you lost your mad battling skills?" Rachel asked.

I wasn't able to answer, because I heard Annabeth yell:

"Percy, watch out!"

The Hydra lunged at me and Rachel. I did the only thing I was capable of thinking about – I rolled to the right, ending on top of Rachel for a change. Next to us, two Hydra heads pounded to the ground.

"Do you mind letting me go, Percy?" she asked. I could tell she felt awkward. But not half as awkward as I. I jumped up and turned to see what the others were doing. The Hydra had somehow taken interest on Thalia again. She was slashing frantically with her spear. Annabeth glared at me. Like I have said before, she is adorable, when she's jealous. I wanted to take her in my arms right then, kiss her like never before and tell her how much I felt for her, but this was hardly the time or place.

I charged at the Hydra, wanting to help Thalia, who was cornered against a large rock, with a raving mad monster trying to rip her head off. I heard Annabeth run after me. I had no clue what we were going to do. Annabeth and I sucked at fighting nowadays, so we would probably get ourselves killed. If I had had any faith on my father's help, I would've prayed to him now, but it seemed like only one of the Olympians was really on our side – Aphrodite. She wouldn't be much help. But then I had an idea.

"O Hestia, Goddess of family and hearth! I could use some help over here!" I yelled at the sky.

As soon as I'd said that, a little girl, about nine years old, appeared with a flash of flames. That didn't bother the Hydra, though. It continued to harass Thalia. It snapped its jaws at her and she tried to block its attack with her Aegis.

"Oh, Lady Hestia, please help us!" I pleaded as Annabeth ran to the Hydra, apparently in order to distract it. Hestia looked at me.

"The Olympians are not allowed to help heroes with their quests," she said. I knew that, but I was desperate as hades.

"But, since you were thoughtful enough to ask me, I'm more than willing to make an exception."

"Thank you, my lady!" I said.

Now here comes the most awesome part of the fight: Lady Hestia looked at the Hydra, said something in Ancient Greek, which sounded to me like 'You have caused enough trouble to these young ones. Be gone!' and the Hydra erupted into flames. Have you ever hear a burning Hydra cry in pain? I tell you, you're a happy fella if you haven't. Thalia, who was just a feet away of the monster yelped and ran to us. Annabeth followed and ran straight to me.

You know how Hestia's fire works? That it's heat and color reflects the emotions around it. I don't actually know what happened. I was a bit confused. And I don't mean I didn't like what came next, but it happened so fast I didn't realize what was happening. Annabeth ran to me, threw her arms around my neck and pulled my face to hers. Remember what I said about wanting to kiss Annabeth like never before? Well, Annabeth took the matter in her own hands, as usual. Her lips crushed against mine with intensity. Her hands pulled my hair in order to get my face even closer to hers. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer. I didn't remember the horror caused by the Hydra. I wasn't aware of our friends and Hestia watching. Because all I could sense was Annabeth. The only thing I could feel, hear, smell, taste – she was everywhere. My breath came in as a wild gasp. Annabeth's lips parted and her tongue trailed along my lower lip. It was so Annabeth-ish – like in everything she did, she was in charge. I wasn't one to tell her off, so I let her tongue enter my mouth. I felt like I was on fire. It might have been the way Hestia's fire was burning, but I know it was all my emotions for Annabeth, that scorched my skin, insides, _everything_. Annabeth's tongue explored my mouth and wrestled with mine.

I could have stayed there forever, just kissing Annabeth. But I don't have that much luck.

"Ahem!" I heard a familiar voice. It seemed to come from far away, but somehow I knew it was something to react to.

Annabeth let out a quiet whimper as I slowly and reluctantly pulled back from the greatest kiss of all time.

"And about time too!" I heard Thalia say. I didn't see her. My eyes were locked with Annabeth's.

_It's time, Seaweed Brain! Tell her you love her! You know you want to, _I heard a little voice in my head say. But this wasn't the place. I wanted it to be somewhere more private.

She leaned closer to me again and touched my lips with hers again, much more softly this time. Then she pulled away and turned to look at the others. I followed her example. Thalia was grinning widely, her arms crossed on her chest. Hestia looked at us calmly with a slight smile on her face. Rachel... Well, Rachel was looking away from us. She seemed really interested in a rock the size of my fist on the ground. I realized I owed a thank you to someone.

"Lady Hestia, I'm so, so grateful!" I said. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome, Percy. I'm glad you remembered me in distress," Hestia said and smiled. "I suppose you've learned something."

That was true. I had learned the importance of little things, without which living wouldn't be so important – home, family... Both of which I had two. I had a home with my mother, who was my family, too. But I also considered Camp Half-Blood my home. And the people there were like family to me, even though we had a huge family crisis at the moment. And perhaps... Well, I hoped I would get another version of family someday. With my Wise Girl.

**Annabeth's POV**

I had been so, so scared. But it was over now. I stared at the Hydra, that was wailing in agony as Hestia's flames burned its hide. The heat was unbelievable. It burned my face. I looked at Percy. His clothes were ragged and torn, his face was all muddy and there were leaves and stuff in his hair. Then I remembered the little incident with him and Rachel earlier. Rolling on the ground on top of each other. I'd been, and still was, jealous as hades.

Things had changed between me and Percy after our parents' visit. He hadn't kissed me since. Not really. And I had grown impatient. Every time he'd touched me had sent an electric current through my body. I yearned to feel his arms around me, telling me how much I meant to him. And when he did tell me, I wished I could be with him freely and not have to be sneaky. I wanted our parents' blessing. I wanted to be truly his. I loved him. I heard Thalia yelp and she stumbled on her feet and ran to the others. I was right behind her. I ran straight to Percy. I'd been so afraid for his safety and that, mixed with all the frustration and love and need for him, caused me to do the last thing I'd ever thought I would do: as soon as I was close enough to touch him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his lips to mine. If I couldn't say it out loud, in case someone would hear, I could use my body language to tell him how much I loved him. I wanted him to know, that he was my everything. I pulled his face closer to mine, my fingers twisting in his hair. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. The heat, that radiated from Hestia's fire was nothing compared to this – Percy's arms around my waist, kissing me back with same force, as if he wanted to let me feel his emotions too. Every part of me was burning with emotion. Emotion I held only for him. I parted my lips and felt Percy's breath in my mouth. I shivered. I trailed the shape of his lower lip with my tongue, begging for entrance in his mouth. Percy's lips parted and my tongue met his. His arms held me even tighter. My hands were tugging his hair. I couldn't remember my own name. My heart beat frantically and the only thing I could hear was the sound of my heart, which turned into a small voice, that chanted 'Percy, Percy'. I heard someone clear her throat. Screw them. This was paradise. Even Isles of the Blest couldn't compare to this.

Percy seemed to have heard the voice of one of our viewers and he, ever so softly started to pull away. I let out a small whimper. Please, give me another minute. I looked into his eyes. They were the most beautiful sea green. I could've literally drowned into them. And I would've drowned with pleasure.

"And about time, too!" Thalia said. Oh, she'd been waiting for this to come?

I gave Percy another peck on his lips and turned. Thalia was watching us, amused. Hestia was smiling politely. I guess she'd seen stuff like this enough for her to be so calm. Rachel was looking away. Hah! Take that, you pretty red-haired girl! Okay, I might be a bit mean, but come on, you just can tell she'd want to be kissing Percy. The thought made me jealous as ever. But I loved him and I had a feeling, that he might feel the same way.

Percy thanked lady Hestia.

"You're welcome, Percy. I'm glad you remembered me in distress," Hestia said and smiled at Percy. "I suppose you've learned something."

Percy was silent. His arm wrapped itself around my waist and he looked at me and then back at Hestia again. Hestia nodded slightly.

"Now I need to go. Just remember what is the most important," she said and disappeared. Her fire, that had burned the Hydra into ashes was still burning.

"Now _that_ was something you don't see every day," Thalia smirked. "Eh, Rachel?"

Sometimes I wonder what goes on in Thalia's mind.

Rachel turned to look at us.

"Huh?" she asked. She obviously hadn't got a clue.

"Never mind," Thalia said and smiled.

"You know what, guys?" she asked and looked around.

"What, Pinecone Face?" Percy asked. I had a feeling he didn't like Thalia's comment to Rachel. Everyone could see Rachel was feeling awkward.

"Now that we have that awesome fire here, we could put our camp up here."

And so we did. Thalia had her magical tent, which she put up in a couple of minutes. It was late, almost 10 pm. We all realized we were starving. Thalia had taken some hot dogs with, which we grilled, when the fire went into coals (which took a long time. We must've made the fire go frantic with our kissing and stuff). We sat on some old logs, which we all had carried from the woods. The atmosphere was relaxed. Even Rachel had recovered from my assault on Percy. She was perfectly normal. And, I was glad to see, that Thalia seemed much happier here in the forest. In the moonlight I could see the blessing of Artemis glow around her. I'd remembered it to be a bit brighter glow though. I supposed it was the light from the coals, that made the silvery glow fainter. I sat right next to Percy. After we were done with eating, I rested my head against his shoulder, just the way I'd done when we were walking in the woods earlier. I sighed. I was content. Percy shifted slightly and kissed my hair. It sent a shiver down my spine. Thalia yawned.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm most certainly going to bed."

She stood up and went into the tent. Rachel looked at us. I could tell she had something in her mind.

"Annabeth?" she said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if I talked to Percy for a while, please?"

_Oh, yes. I really would, because I know what you're up to. Boy, oh boy, I know what you are trying to do. _

I sat up straight and looked at Percy. He nodded and mouthed: 'It's okay.'

"Sure, Rachel," I said, stood up and went to join Thalia in the tent. Before crawling in, I took the last glance at Percy. Rachel had moved to sit by his side. Grr... My spot! Mine! I knew I'd probably attack her if I wouldn't go into the tent right away, so I clambered in. Thalia was sitting on her sleeping bag.

"Where did you leave Percy, Love Girl?" she asked. I glowered at her and her wide grin turned into an expression that screamed 'Red alert! Red alert!'

"What's wrong, Annabeth?" she asked, concern coloring her voice. I shook my head.

"It's nothing."

"Yes there is something wrong and I know it. Now spit it out or I'll have Percy to get it out of you," said Thalia.

"Really, Thalia..."

"No. Now speak."

Now don't understand me wrong. I would've wanted to tell Thalia. But how could I possibly explain everything I felt to her, when I couldn't even explain it to myself? The new, intense feeling toward Percy, which I was almost 100% sure was called 'love', all the jealousy I felt when Rachel was around him, the fact, that everyone else hated us at camp and that our parents wanted to kill us. I was also worried about the prophecy Rachel had given us and about Thalia, who had to make a tough decision between Grover and Artemis.

Thalia looked almost furious now.

"Come on! You're freaking me out! Speak! Really, you should look at yourself. You've looked awful for the past week! I thought it was getting better but you look the same again. Tell me," she pleaded, "Tell me what's wrong."

"I can't explain it," I said. My voice broke in the end.

"Try, please. I hate to see you like this. Tell me, who makes you that miserable and I'll go and punch that punk straight into Tartarus."

"I've already told you. I hate it, that everyone hates us at camp. I'm worried about you. You have a tough choice to make. Now, I'm also jealous of Rachel. The worst thing is, that our parents want to kill us. Right now, when I'm absolutely sure, that I can't ever leave Percy. I love him, Thalia." My eyes were filling with tears. My voice was cracking.

"Oh, Annabeth," Thalia whispered and pulled me into a tight, comforting hug. She rocked me there slightly.

"I'm sorry I snapped like that. It's just that I've been so worried about you. You have looked the same for the last week as you were those two days when Percy was unconscious. Don't you be worried about me. I can handle it. _I_ look healthy. _You_ don't. And for Percy – it's going to be okay. I know you love him. After today, there's no questioning that."

I don't know how long I let her hold me there. I just cried. Minutes passed. Then someone opened the door zipper.

"Oh, did I interrupt something?"

Hades, I hate Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

I pulled away from Thalia. I looked at her. For a flickering moment I could see annoyance on her face, but it soon turned back into comfort as she glanced at me.

"No. I'm fine," I said. The last sentence was addressed to Thalia, to convince her I was okay.

"Where's Percy?" she asked Rachel.

"He's outside. He asked me to get Annabeth," Rachel said. She looked at me.

"He wants to talk."

I rushed outside. Percy was still sitting by the coals. I went to sit by his side.

"Hi." I touched his hand and he looked at me.

"Hi," he said. "You know, Rachel told me about a vision she'd had. About you sitting beside my bed while I was unconscious."

Oh? What had she seen?

"Anything interesting?" I asked.

"_I_ think so," Percy said and smiled. "There was this thing you said about nightmares, that made me think."

_Oh, now I remember. The time I fed him ambrosia. _

"What about it?"

"You see, I know, what's the worst nightmare I've ever had. Eurus, he east wind, took you back to your mother. You were taken away from me and I could do nothing, because I was tied with ropes made of seaweed. Now I understand it. Our parents want to pull us apart. But I won't let them."

His eyes were gleaming with the light coming from the coals.

"I swore upon the river Styx. Now I have another oath to take," he said and took my hand.

"What is it?" I whispered.

"Annabeth, I... I love you." My heart skipped a beat. _Oh my gods, I love you, Aphrodite!_

"I swear upon the river Styx, that come what may, I always will. Until the end of time."

I wanted to answer. I wanted to tell him the same things, but his lips silenced me. They pressed on mine softly, lovingly. His hand, that was holding mine, guided my hand to his neck and then he placed his hand in my hair. His other arm wrapped around my waist. My head was spinning. I loved this boy. My tongue was trailing along his lip again. He parted his lips, letting out a small groan. Woah, the sound of his groan made the butterflies in my stomach go wild. There was something tugging in my gut. I had a sudden urge to straddle him, but, just this once, I held back. I wanted this to be a beautiful exchange of 'I love you''s, rather than a making-out session.

As much as I would've wanted to kiss Percy the whole night, there was still something I had to say. I slowly started to pull away, but Percy held my face to his and pulled me even closer to him by my waist.

"Percy," I whispered in his mouth. Now it was his turn to pull away. He let go of my waist and hair and cupped my face with both of his hands. Then he pulled my face away from his.

"What, Wise Girl?" he asked huskily. Wow. The sound of his voice, so filled with emotion made me want to cry. I didn't deserve him. He was too good for me. I fought the lump in my throat and said:

"First of all, when have you learned how to be all gooey and romantic? Secondly: I love you too, Seaweed Brain, from the bottom of my heart and I swear upon the river Styx, that my love will last forever."

Percy pulled me in a tight embrace and kissed the top of my head.

"I can be romantic. I just haven't had many chances to show it yet," he said. I could feel him grinning against my head.

"You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say you love me," I mumbled in his chest. "But I wonder what our parents will do to us now. I suppose they've been watching us the whole time via Channel Hephaestus."

"Let them be. I won't let them come between us anymore," said Percy.

I wished it would be enough. That Percy could keep his promise, that nothing would come between us anymore. I looked at him. He pressed his lips on mine once and stroked my face. Again the feeling of crying hit me. He was so kind, loving and cute, that there was no way I could ever be worthy of his love. A single tear fell down my cheek. Percy caught it with his index finger.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"You're so good to me. I'm not worth of you," I told him and a few other tears fell.

"Oh, Annabeth. How could you say that?" Percy asked and pulled me into another hug.

"You're so absurd sometimes. You're the most beautiful, smart and lovely person there is. _I_ am so not worth of you," he said, rubbing my back.

"Maybe we're both wrong?" I pulled back and smiled at Percy.

"That would be the first time you're wrong, eh?" he asked.

"No..."

"Well when have you ever been wrong? And when did you start admitting you're wrong?"

"When I thought you were an asshole. I've never been more wrong," I said and snuggled closer to him again. "And that's something I'm glad of being wrong about."

Then I heard a voice coming from the tent:

"Hey, guys! Wanna join us now? I thought we could teach Rachel how to play Pinochle. Mr. D.'ll love her!"

In that moment, even Rachel's name was like the most beautiful music to me. That kind of music, that Percy sang to me. That kind of music, that woke Percy from his almost-coma.

The promise we'd both made each other rang in my ears as we rose and joined Thalia and Rachel in the tent:

"Come what may, come what may,  
I will love you until my dying day."

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**What did you think? Did I go overboard with the googoo-stuff? Share your thoughts with me and help me get this the way you guys like it! After all, you are my critics here. I hope you liked it. Athena's cabin wishes you a very happy day indeed (or night, depends...).  
Until next time**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC **


	12. Help is needed

**Hello, guys!  
I'm very sorry about the slow pace of my uploads. Moving abroad is taking a lot of my time. But no worries – there will be more. A special thanks to Percabeth 4evah for your... interesting review. It's refreshing to get some negative reviews as well. Don't worry, I hate Rachel, too. But without further ado, here's the 12th chapter!**

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**Thalia's POV**

"What are we going to do about the prophecy?" Annabeth asked the first thing in the morning.

"I really don't know," Rachel said and yawned.

No one had slept well, because our tent had been infested with mosquitoes. How could it possibly be filled with little insects, when the fabric was supposed to protect us from monsters? We didn't know. I'd have to talk to Artemis about this.

"Let's just wait and see what happens. If something's about to happen, it will," said Percy, who was rummaging my backpack for some food.

"Oatmeal? Thals, _why_ do you always bring oatmeal? It tastes like cardboard!" he whined, when he found the food I had packed with us.

"Well what would mister Seaweed Brain want for his royal breakfast then?" I mocked him. He dropped the oatmeal packet.

"Okay, okay. _Pinecone Face_," he mumbled. I threw a pinecone at him. Ha! Who's a pinecone face now?

I prepared the oatmeal and we ate in silence. Annabeth's head was drooping on Percy's shoulder. Percy and Rachel yawned in harmony. I had taken a little walk earlier and it had waken me up a bit, but I was still drowsy. I'd have to secure the tent against mosquitoes for tonight. We'd had the time of our lives last night teaching Rachel how to play Pinochle. Percy had done some awesome Mr. D. impersonations and we'd laughed so hard at him! Rachel was a fast learner and soon she beat Percy, who pouted then and he looked so much like Mr. D., that we'd burst into laughter again. That was the point, when there were just too many mosquitoes to live with and we'd dived into our sleeping bags and covered our faces.

I looked at my friends: they were still almost asleep

"How about going for a swim?" I asked them. A good swim would wake them up.

A second later I wished I hadn't said anything, because Percy jumped up, pushing Annabeth to the ground in the process. Annabeth yelped as she woke up. Her yell woke up Rachel, who, too, jumped up and poured oatmeal on her shirt.

"I'm not going swimming, Thalia," Percy said, his face hard.

"I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't remember how angry Poseidon is," I said.

"Calm down, Seaweed Brain," Rachel said and tried to clean up her shirt. No use. "Eww, look at this mess! You really need to get some anger management, because I really don't like oatmeal on my shirt, thank you."

"Sorry, Rachel," Percy apologized, while pulling Annabeth from the ground. Something had happened to them, when they'd talked outside last night. They seemed...different.

"Apology accepted. _If_ you wash my shirt," Rachel grinned at Percy, who frowned dramatically.

"Ugh, I can't live in eternal debt. I'll wash your shirt. Oh, that would mean...water. Well, I'll just send your shirt to my mom. She'll wash it in her machine." Percy grinned back at Rachel.

"Well... Do you want the shirt now, or later?" Rachel asked, her tone innocent. Percy blushed scarlet.

"You don't necessarily have to give it to me just now, okay?" he said. Annabeth wrapped an arm around his waist, like she was making sure he knew she was still there. Percy kissed her cheek.

Annabeth saw me looking at them with curiosity.

"Hey, Thalia. How are you today?" she asked in a mockingly polite tone.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just...tired," I tried. Hah, Annabeth could see through me.

"Yeah, right. Come, I need to talk to you," she said and pulled me away by the hand.

We stopped after about a hundred meters.

"Percy said he loved me!" Annabeth shrieked the second we'd stopped walking.

"Oh, Annabeth, that's _wonderful_!" I said, but inside I couldn't really feel happy for her. She reminded me about Grover and the decision I'd have to make.

Suddenly, my every thought was occupied by a decision I either had already made, or one, that should be made.

"Annabeth, do you feel the same that I do?" I asked. This really was disturbing.

"If you mean my mind being manipulated, yeah. Totally," she said, suspicion in her eyes. Suddenly there was a man standing in front of us. Or at least, it looked somewhat like a man. He had two faces, both on the sides of his head, where his ears should be.

"Janus," Annabeth cried out.

Where did Annabeth know this guy?

"Yeah, it's me!" his left face sneered. "Missed me already?"

"I most certainly missed you," said his right face. "Your indecision was adorable!"

"Who are you?" I asked. Janus turned to me. Or, I thought so, because he shifted himself so, that he was posed in front of me, like he'd done with Annabeth. His two-face-thing was quite disturbing. I didn't know which face to look at.

"I'm your sweetest dream," the right face said.

"I'm your worst nightmare," the left face said.

"I'm Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."

"And I know who you are," the right face said.

"Oh, yeah I do!" the left face added. "You're Thalia Grace, the daughter of Zeus!"

Hearing my last name sent my blood rushing through my veins.

"I don't have a last name," I spat at Janus.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the right face said.

"By the way, Annabeth, I know you have some decisions to make," the left face said. "And so do you, Thalia Gr..."

"Don't mess with her, Janus!" the right face said.

"Why? I like to mess with people!" the left face pouted.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?" I cried. This Janus guy was freaking me out. This didn't make any sense to me at all.

"Janus, stop confusing her!" ordered Annabeth. The look on her face was fierce.

"I'm not confusing her," said the right face with an innocent expression.

"I'm just trying to offer her choices, but you keep interrupting me," the left face added.

"I don't need you offering me choices," I said coldly. "I know the choices I have."

"Yes, but have you already made the choice between them?" the left face asked.

"No...but -"

"Well go on! Make the choice!" the right face said.

"And you too, Annabeth. You have to make your choice too!" the left face said to Annabeth. Her fierce expression turned into fear.

"You know I have made the choice, Janus," she whispered. Janus shook his head.

"No, I don't think you have," said Janus' right face. "You are not sure about your choice."

"I am!" Annabeth said. Tears started to gather in her eyes. "I love Percy!"

"Oh, I must consult Percy too," the left face said. "But you have to make the decision together. The other can't back out. So choose, Annabeth. Choose."

Annabeth was really crying now. I suppose she'd met Janus before.

"Stop it, Janus!" I snapped at him.

"Be sure, that I will visit you again soon, Thalia. Your indecision will be interesting to watch," the right face said. "I will leave you now. To decide for yourselves."

A silver key appeared in Janus' hand. He twisted it in the air, like there was a lock there and he vanished.

"Are you okay, Annabeth?" I asked. Stupid question, really. Everyone could see she wasn't okay. Still, she nodded.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm okay."

"Let's go back to Percy and Rachel. I think at least Percy should know what just happened," I said and wrapped my arm around Annabeth's shoulders.

Back at the campfire, Percy and Rachel had fallen asleep. They'd both fallen off the logs they had been sitting on and now they were lying on the ground. Percy was drooling. Rachel snored.

Annabeth seemed to think they had too little space between them.

"Up you get, Seaweed Brain!" she yelled and yanked Percy up.

"Wha... Did I fall... _yawn..._ asleep?" Percy asked.

"You sure did, Perce," I grinned at him.

Percy looked around and when she spotted Rachel lying on the ground, not two feet from he'd slept, he said quickly: "Oh, I'm sorry" and pecked Annabeth on her cheek. 'I love you' Annabeth mouthed. Or, at least I thought it was 'I love you'. I felt a jolt in my stomach. I missed Grover. I wondered, what he was doing. He was probably on his way to get that kid to camp.

"Let's wake Rachel up," Annabeth said and looked at me. Oh, yeah. We'd need to tell them about Janus' visit.

"Leave it to me," said Percy and went to Rachel. He crouched beside her and grinned at us.

"I've been _dying_ to do this for months!" he said and bent to whisper in Rachel's ear.

Rachel rolled over and muttered something. I couldn't hear exactly what, but Percy was amused. He chuckled and crooned:

"Rachel... It's time to wake up." While he said that, he brushed the hair off Rachel's face.

"What the hades are you doing, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. I could tell she was jealous.

"Calm down, Wise Girl. I'm just poking fun," said Percy and grinned again. He stroked Rachel's cheek again.

"Rachel..."

"Errm...Uh?" Rachel mumbled.

"Rachel?" I asked and giggled quietly. She was still half asleep and the whole situation was pretty funny to watch. Even though what Percy was doing was kinda cruel.

"Shut up," Rachel said drowsily. "I'm having a good dream here."

"What are you dreaming of, Rachel?" Percy asked, trying hard not to laugh.

Rachel sighed and said:

"I'm just about to kiss you, Percy."

I couldn't help it, I burst laughing. Percy was holding his stomach, laughing silently. Even Annabeth started giggling, when Percy made a kissing motion toward her.

My burst of laughter finally woke Rachel up.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked, confused.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," I giggled.

Annabeth was the first to manage to get her face straight.

"Thalia and I have to talk to you two," she said. That made me and Percy stop laughing. I had almost forgotten, that we really had something to tell Percy and Rachel.

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Percy's POV**

I wondered what was so important. Well, I suppose I should have gotten used to urgent matters already, but I just didn't have a clue of what it would be this time.

"Okay," I said. "What's happened now?"

"I'm not quite sure, so I think it's best, if Annabeth told you," Thalia said and looked at Annabeth. She nodded and started:

"Well... I had something to tell to Thalia...but that you already know. The thing is, that just when we'd got behind those bushes over there," Annabeth pointed at a shrubbery about a hundred meters away, "we had a visitor. You know him already, Percy. Janus."

Oh, Hades! I knew Janus, all right. He'd harassed Annabeth in Daedalus' labyrinth.

"What did he want? Are you okay, Annabeth? Did he say something to you, Thalia?" the words came from my mouth as a blur. There were so many things I wanted to know.

"I'm quite okay. Although, Janus was very keen on reminding me about the choice between obeying my mother and loving you." Annabeth blushed with the last part. Rachel jumped at the word 'love'.

"He reminded me about my decisions, too," Thalia joined in.

"What decisions?" Rachel asked.

"Errm..." I mumbled. I wasn't sure, if Thalia would want to share her mind with Rachel, whom she barely knew. Annabeth and I shared a concerned look.

"Oh, I get it, I get it. Sorry, Thalia," Rachel said quickly, when she saw our expressions.

"It's okay. It's just that I have some difficult choices to make, too," Thalia said.

"Oh, okay," said Rachel and she dropped her gaze to the ground.

I felt bad for her. She wasn't really a part of our little gang. I knew just how it felt. When I first went to Camp Half-Blood I'd felt really outside. I didn't have a clue back then. I could remember my first 'Capture the flag' like it was only yesterday, when it had taken place. I had just stood there, in border patrol, feeling stupid and the Ares' kids had tried to hit the living daylights out of me. I smiled at the thought. And there I was again. In the same place. Back at camp they would've put me in border patrol and all the others would've creamed me. Only a few things had changed. Now, I wasn't the only one feeling stupid. Annabeth was there, too. For this once, she wasn't the one, who watched and laughed, when I screwed. She was in this with me. And I was grateful.

Our first day of therapy vacation went by. We were too tired to do anything and we hit the sac early. This time we secured the tent door, so that any bugs couldn't enter the tent. I slept in one corner with Annabeth next to me. On her other side, there was Thalia and finally Rachel. Obviously, Annabeth had arranged our places. Silly little Wise Girl. Before turning off our flashlights, Annabeth shuffled closer to me and moved my arms toward her. I obediently wrapped them around her. The last second before passing out, I heard her whisper:

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Wise Girl," I murmured.

I slept dreamless that night... Until Thalia woke me up.

"Percy! Come on, wake up!" she whispered and shook me.

"What's going on, Thalia?" I asked. Then I felt it. Deep inside my brain, a voice called me. A voice I knew almost too well: the terrified bleating of my favorite goat boy.

"Perrr-cy!"

"Grover? What is it?" I asked.

"Monster doughnuts! They're _everywhere!_ She's in charge of them!" he shouted. I didn't understand a word he was saying.

"What? Grover, calm down and explain me," I tried to sooth him, but I could tell it was too late – the connection had broken.

I turned to Thalia.

"How did you..."

"I had this dream of him. I think he was trying to reach me, too. But anyway, he's in trouble. We need to go help him!"

True.

We began a super-quick waking up operation, which was quite easy. At least waking Annabeth up was. She, like demigods in general, slept light, because of our battle reflexes. Funny, because even though our other reflexes had been taken away, we were still sleeping bad. Rachel on the other hand... Well, let's just say, that we had to use some hardcore waking methods in order to get her awake.

Thalia and I explained the situation quickly. The girls were fully awake that very second and we started to gather up our stuff, which didn't take long.

"Now, where can we find Grover?" I asked. "He said some nonsense about monster doughnuts everywhere..."

Then I got it. When Annabeth, Tyson and I had been on our way to rescue Grover, we had marooned on this island, where Tyson had found a doughnut shop called Monster Doughnuts. Oh, Hades! This wasn't good. We didn't know if he had the kid already with him, but if he had, that would certainly not help us.

"Annabeth? Do you remember the island, where we met Hydra?" I asked.

"Yes. Thalia knows it, too."

Oh, right. They had built a little safe house there, when they were young and with Luke.

"Which one was it, Annabeth?" Thalia asked. I supposed they'd built many safe houses around the US.

"The one near the Sea of Monsters."

"Okay... How are we going to get there?" Rachel said. "And what and where exactly is this Sea of Monsters?"

"The Bermuda Triangle," I told her. "That's why there's been so many missing ships and planes there. They've got lost there of eaten up by monsters. Or both."

"Well, that sounds a nice place indeed..." she muttered.

"Rachel's right, though. How are we gonna get there?" I asked, eyeing Annabeth and Thalia.

Annabeth frowned.

"Don't ask questions like that, Seaweed Brain. It kills me, not being able to think."

"I'm sorry. The question wasn't precisely addressed to you," I said and kissed the top of her head.

"Fly to Florida and take a boat from there?" Thalia suggested.

"Really bad idea, Thalia," Rachel said.

"Oh, why?"

"Percy can't fly and I'm pretty sure, that the best thing for him is to take a boat across the sea."

Why do girls have to be so damn smart all the time?

"What other choices do we have?" Annabeth asked.

"None," Thalia said.

"Then we'll have to fly and sail," I said.

"Percy, you can't!" Annabeth cried.

"I don't have any other choice," I argued. "We have to save Grover."

"Poseidon will drown you!"

"I'll take the risk."

"You swore you wouldn't leave me!"

"So I won't die then."

"How can you know?"

Why do girls have to be so damn stubborn all the time?

"Look, Annabeth. I have made a decision here. I'm going to save Grover and stay alive. I won't leave you. None of us will die," I said and wrapped my arms securely around Annabeth's waist.

"Percy, don't try to distract me," Annabeth said.

"I'm not trying to distract you. I'm just telling how things are going to work. And, maybe using some of the effect I have on you as a helpful tool in making you believe I'm right this time," I kissed her lips quickly, unwrapped my arms and turned to Thalia and Rachel.

"We'll have to speak with Chiron first. We're gonna need a rainbow."

"That's why I always keep a spray bottle with me nowadays," Annabeth said. I supposed she'd accepted her fate and was going to go along with my plan.

"Good girl," I said and patted her head slightly. She hit me with the bottle she'd taken out of her backpack.

"Who's got change?" Thalia asked. "I'm out of drachmas."

"I've got some," I said and dug my pockets. I found a drachma and tossed it into the spray of water Annabeth was making against the rising sun.

"O, goddess! Accept our offering!" I prayed.

The next moment, I almost got a stroke. Annabeth stopped spraying. A girly female voice spoke from nowhere:

"This is Lady Iris. A very good morning! Or day, or whatever it is right now. I'm not available at the moment. I suppose I'm doing some job for the gods or something. If you're an Olympian god, leave a message. If you're a minor god, leave a message. If you're a demigod, don't bother. I'm busy and not able to attend to your little problems. Have a pleasant day!"

"What the Hades was that?" Rachel asked.

"I _think_ it was Iris' answering machine," Thalia said. All the girls looked surprised. I guess I did, too.

"So... We won't be able to reach Chiron. I suggest we leave now," I said.

"Do we have any mortal money?" Thalia asked.

"Don't look at me, I'm broke," I said.

"Same here," said Annabeth.

"Well I've got all the mortal money we need," Rachel said and pulled out her credit card. There was the logo of her father's firm on it. Dare Enterprises.

"Awesome! Let's get going then!" I said and we rushed away, leaving our campsite behind.

We found a bus stop just outside the forest. Lucky for us, we didn't have to wait there for long. Rachel and Annabeth went back to sleep as soon as the bus started moving. Annabeth snuggled close to me and closed her eyes. Her head was bent on my shoulder and her position looked quite uncomfortable to me, so I pulled her on my lap, careful not to wake her up, and let her head rest against my chin. Thalia, who sat with Rachel on the seats in front of us, turned around to peek over the back of her seat.

"Percy, are you really sure about the boat trip to the island?" she asked, her face painted with concern.

"Not exactly, but it's the only way," I said.

Annabeth adjusted herself on my lap. The feeling sent a shiver down my spine. Shoot. I didn't want to turn into a testosterone fueled hormone monster. I leaned over Annabeth's shoulder to kiss her cheek. She sighed.

"You really love her, I can tell," Thalia mused as she watched us.

"I do," I said and blushed. It was so different telling Annabeth I loved her, than telling anyone else about it.

"I'm glad. I have never seen her this content," said Thalia. "Even though you two are screwed, you are happy all the same."

"Yeah..."

"Are we there yet?" I heard Rachel ask. She had woken up.

I checked the time.

"Only a half an hour to go," I told her.

She turned to peer over her back, too. When she saw me and Annabeth, her eyes dropped to her hands.

"So... We're going to fly to Miami and what then?" she asked.

"Rent a boat and sail on the Monster Doughnut -island," I said. "I'm sorry, that we're using your money so relentlessly."

I really was sorry. This wasn't going to end up being cheap.

When we had about ten minutes of the ride left, I woke Annabeth up. She was a bit confused at first, because she obviously didn't have a clue about me taking her to sit on my lap.

"It's time to fly," I murmured in her ear.

We'd have to pray, that Zeus wasn't on our parents' side in this battle, because if he was, we were screwed.

The flight was the most terrifying ever. I started hyperventilating every time we flew in an air pocket or something else shook the plane. Luckily Annabeth was quite good in distracting me. The touch of her hand on my cheek, her lips against mine and hearing her voice telling me she loved me were the three most powerful tools of distraction ever.

After a few hours' flight we finally arrived in Miami. When the wheels of the plane touched the ground I was so grateful, that I almost yelled a 'thank you' to Zeus for letting me go through his domain. Then I turned to Annabeth, kissed her and thanked her, too.

"No problem. That was one of the best flights I've ever experienced."

I have to say, that even though I had been scared to death, the flight had been quite pleasurable. After all, how many times a month you get to spend hours kissing the girl you love, when your godly parents want to tear you apart and they will use everything in their power to prevent you from being together? I tell you, you really have to cherish those kind of occasions.

"One of the best?" I asked playfully.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain. The best," Annabeth smiled and kissed me again.

I was able to breathe freely, when we finally got out of the plane. We went to the luggage reclaim, got our backpacks and started hunting for a boat rental-place. Sure enough, there was one really close to the airport.

"Good morning, kids," the owner, an old and skinny man with a deep tan and freckles greeted us when we walked into the rental office.

"Good morning. We'd like to rent a boat," Annabeth said. We made her do the talking, because she looked the most mature of us.

"Well, what kind of boat you're interested in?" asked the owned and slammed some brochures on the counter.

The boats were amazing! There were hundreds of sailboats, each more beautiful than the other. I would've been happy with any of them, but we didn't want to spend much money on the boat, since there was a big possibility, that we would never bring the boat back in a sailing condition. That's why we settled with a little yacht with one cabin and vapid interior.

Don't ask me how we got the boat without giving any ID. I suppose it had something to do with the Mist. My hands were shaking and my knees felt weak as we set sail towards the ocean and the Monster Doughnut -island.

**

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This was today's chapter of Come what may! I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are very much appreciated. Athena's cabin wishes you the most awesome day!**

**Peace, love, PJO.**

**Luv,**

**AC**

**Oh, by the way, the beginning of this fic has been translated in German. More chapters are yet to come. Thank you, Tanja for your awesome work! The link to the German version is on my profile.**


	13. Author's note Unfortunate events

**A/N: **

**Hey guys! I'm sorry having to tell you this, but I'm travelling again and won't be able to post anything in a while. I'm very sorry about this, but I promise there will be more after I've got things straight.**

**Keep on loving PJO!**

**Peace, love, PJO.**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	14. Some temper of the ocean

**Hey guys! I'm back with a little something for you! I know, this is shorter than you're used to, but I wanted to give you something to remember me by :) I promise I'll be back with more! Okay, I'll let you read the chapter now.**

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**Annabeth's POV**

I had assumed the boat trip to the island to be unnerving, but that was an understatement. Unless it has been unclear to you, Poseidon kinda has it for me, too. The moment we left the dock, the waves started getting bigger and bigger.

"Are you sure this is the only way, Percy?" asked Thalia. "We could still turn back..."

"No way, Thalia. We'll manage," Percy said confidently. I just wished I was confident enough. This certainly didn't convince me.

In half an hour, the calm sea had turned grey and the huge waves were rocking our poor little boat. I saw Rachel's face turn all green.

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Percy asked. Rachel didn't say a thing. She just shook her head. We stuck her inside the cabin.

I really didn't care about Rachel's well-being; it was Percy whom I was worried about. I could see the horror on his face, when the waves got so big, that the water started to splash over the edges. Thalia was handling her own, steering the boat as well as she could. Percy and I were holding on the ropes, reefing when needed. In times like these, I really missed Percy's ability to know your exact coordinates at sea, never to mention the water-control thing. In his normal state he could've easily calmed the ocean for us and make the tides guide us to our destination.

"Do you have any idea of how long we need to hang on, Percy?" I yelled over the roar of the ocean.

"No, I don't," Percy yelled back and one angry wave splashed all over him, leaving him spluttering.

My lips were all chapped of the salty water, that came pouring down on us from the furious sea. I was also freezing. I couldn't feel my toes, my fingers, anything. All I could do was to make sure I held on the rope tightly.

"Are you coping there, guys?" Thalia yelled through the storm. "We could always swap places!"

"I'm okay!" Percy and I yelled back.

"Are you sure you're okay, Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"I'm positive," I answered him and tried to flash a confident smile.

Silly, caring thing. I would manage. Lately he had become almost too careful with me. It was sweet, I'll give him that, but I didn't need protection. I could handle my own. Although, I was so cold I would give anything for a warm fire and dry clothes...

The sky grew dark, the night fell. I couldn't see a thing. I only felt our little boat rock in the waves. That was the point, when I started panicking. We couldn't possibly get to the island before our boat would sink. Steering the boat was a real lottery. There was no way Thalia could know where to go. We were starting to get real tired, but we had to move on, because anchoring in this kind of weather would be even more suicidal.

Suddenly Rachel dashed out of the cabin. I only could see her silhouette in the dark. A flashlight lit in the darkness.

"Guys! I know this isn't the best moment for this, but you have to see something!" she yelled and rushed to me.

"What is it, Rachel?" I asked. Even though she was right next to me, I had to yell to make my voice audible. The roaring of the storm was very noisy.

I saw something in Rachel's hand. A piece of paper?

"I was resting in the cabin and suddenly I felt the urge to draw something and... well... this was what came out of it," she said and pointed the flashlight at the paper in her hand.

The boat was rocking and Rachel's hand shook so badly, that at first I couldn't make out what there was on the paper, but after a while of looking, I saw, that Rachel had drawn another vision of hers. I didn't recognize the place in the drawing, probably because the place was packed with monsters; _dracaenae_, telchines, _leucrocotae _(skeletal animals, that could imitate human voices to lure their prey), huge centaurs, etc. etc., and as the cherry on the top: Echidna, the mother of monsters.

"Rachel, did you see anything else than this?" I asked.

I couldn't help my voice shaking. This didn't look good. I had learned to trust Rachel's visions the hard way; before she'd realized what she could see, she had drawn pictures of Kronos' army in front of the Empire State building – the place the campers were guarding. We all had been there when the vision had come true. Believe me, that was something you don't want to see.

"No, only this," Rachel said. Her face looked pale in the pallid light of her flashlight.

"Girls? What is it?" Percy asked.

Rachel went to show the picture to him. Thalia wanted to see it, too. I watched Percy across the boat. I could see his brain work and I knew he was thinking exactly the same as I was: when? In order to defeat all those monsters, we needed to get some backup. Thalia couldn't beat them all on her own and Percy and I would be no help to her, never to mention Rachel.

Percy spoke his mind first.

"Do you have any idea of when we're going to meet those nasties?" he asked.

Rachel shook her head.

"No. I don't have anything else. I just know we're going to come across all of them."

"What should we do now?" Thalia asked.

"Don't ask me. I'm not able to think," I said. I was really frustrated, but I tried hard not to put it on my friends. My brain was all fuzzy, thanks to the curse of Athena.

I looked at Percy. His eyes caught mine.

"We need help," I said. Percy nodded.

"Let's try to find a place to land. We need to think of the situation somewhere, where we don't have to yell to each other all the time," he said.

Sometimes I got amazed how smart Percy was. Now that I couldn't think at all, his abilities to use his mind took me by surprise.

Finding a place to land was a real task in the dark and even if there was light, the weather would've made landing difficult and risky. Even though, we never stopped trying. After a while, Rachel took the rudder and Percy and Thalia all but forced me to go warm up. Of course I was glad to get inside, throw on some dry clothes and eat something, but I was anxious. What if something happened while I was away? If the boat crashed, we all would drown. Poseidon would pull us down one by one and I wouldn't get a chance to say my friends goodbye. I wouldn't be able to tell Percy how much I loved him...

Although I was quite panicky, the waves rocked me to sleep on the cabin's little sofa.

'CRASH!' the boat shook and I fell off the couch.

I woke up with a start. What had happened?

"Percy?" I yelled and stood up.

'CREEEEEK!' the said the boat. Bad thoughts started to gather in my brain. Had we crashed? Was the boat sinking? Then, thank the gods, a voice numbed my horror for a second.

"Annabeth!" I heard Percy yell and soon I saw a light coming from the cabin door.

Percy dashed in and started searching for something in the cupboards. Soon he found what he'd been looking for – life jackets.

"Percy, what's going on?" I asked. I hated the way my voice sounded. It was so full of terror and uncertainty.

"Rachel couldn't have seen it coming," Percy said. I got the feeling, that he was trying to protect Rachel, which made me jealous as hades. Besides, what ever it was, how could Rachel have _not_ seen it coming? She was the new oracle, for crying out loud! Still, I wanted to know more, so I decided not to accuse anyone at the moment.

"See what coming?" I asked.

Percy looked at me and handed me a life jacket.

"The boat crashed. There were some underwater rocks. We're sinking."

The moment he'd said the word 'sinking' I jumped at Percy, pulling his face to mine. If we were going to die, I wanted to make the last moments with him the best ones of my life. This kiss was different from the others Percy and I had ever shared. This was more urgent. Everything expressed, that we only had that much time left. Who knew when the whole boat would sink and I never could touch Percy's face again? Better do it a thousand times now.

"Annabeth," Percy mumbled in my mouth. "We're _sinking_. We need to get away, to the life boat."

"No. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die kissing you," I insisted and pulled him tighter against me.

"We aren't going to die, Annabeth," Percy said, pulling away from the kiss. He made it sound like the case was closed.

Percy looked at the life jacket he had given me. I had dropped it on the flood when I'd started kissing him.

"Put that on," he said and took another one for himself.

I pulled the life jacket over my head and fastened the straps. Then Percy took two backpacks on his shoulders and pulled me out of the cabin, onto the deck. On the deck, Hades had broken loose. The storm was still at its full rage, but the boat had stopped moving. We must have hit the rocks pretty hard. Since the hole in the boat was underwater, I couldn't see the destruction, but I could see, that we had sunk deeper in the ocean. There was water everywhere. Thalia and Rachel were working on the life boat.

"Are you ready?" Percy asked them, when we reached them.

"We just need to let the boat into the water," Thalia said.

"Alright, let's do it, then!" Percy rushed. "We need to stay above the water level. If we don't, we'll die of hypothermia."

He was right. We'd freeze to death.

Without hesitation we let the boat into the water, threw the backpacks in and jumped after them. Percy took the oars and started rowing as well as he could between the huge waves.

* * *

**Percy's POV**

In the end, the precautions against getting wet were useless. The waves hit the boat's sides so hard, that we were wet in no time. Rowing was useless too; even though I rowed as hard as I could, the boat went along with the waves. We were totally at the mercy of Poseidon. Annabeth shuffled closer to me and curled up against my side. Her body radiated some warmth on mine, but it didn't help much. The sea water was freezing and the wind didn't help at all. I knew I had been completely right – we would most certainly die of hypothermia. In fact, I didn't think we had more than a few hours left. Soon Annabeth started to shiver from the cold. I tried to rub her arms gently to bring some warmth into them, but it was pretty useless and soon I started to tremble, too. My body temperature was dropping inevitably.

I didn't believe the waves could get any bigger before they did. In about half an hour, the waves no longer crashed on the boat's sides, but rather fell into the boat. For the first time of my life, I felt the salty water burn my eyes. If I hadn't been so uncomfortably cold right then, I would've given more thought to the feeling of it, but by that time, I had many bigger things in mind – for example another 'I'm soon going to die' -experience.

In the dim light of the fluttering flashlight, I could see, that Thalia and Rachel were copying mine and Annabeth's example of survival one-oh-one: sitting really close to each other, using each other's body warmth. Right then, I couldn't have told any difference if I had sat two meters away from Annabeth. Her body warmth didn't warm me. Hades, she didn't have any warmth left!

'KER-SPLOOSH!'

A huge wave, it must've been about six feet high, splashed against our boat and turned it over. When the tides pulled me underwater, I almost lost hope. There was a second, when I thought: 'Percy, let Poseidon have you. Give up. There's no use to fight back.' But then I realized, that I had something to do before letting go of the last bits of strength I had, so I swam to the surface and tried desperately to look for my friends. It was pretty hard, because the night was pitch-dark. The flashlights were no use, since they were in the bottom of the sea by then. Then I remembered Grover. We would probably never get to him. We couldn't help him. He'd be as lost as we were.

"Annabeth!" I yelled as loud as I could. My throat was frozen, but I managed to make some audible noise.

I prayed to any god who would listen, that I would find her and possibly Thalia and Rachel, too. I needed to find them and say goodbye before it would be too late. Not ten seconds after I'd called for Annabeth, I heard her yell my name from about ten meters away.

"Percy! Where are you?" she called from the darkness.

"I'm here! Don't move, I'm coming over there," I told her and swam like mad, calling for Thalia and Rachel at the same time.

I got no answers from them.

Thank gods, Annabeth wasn't hard to find. She had been pretty close to me and soon I almost bumped into her. I pulled her in my arms. She trembled, but I wasn't sure if it was because of the cold or because she was crying. Or both.

We just stayed there, our arms around each other. The water was freezing and tremors came down my spine. The cold made me forget about the things I had to say to Annabeth, before it would be too late.

"Annabeth," I croaked. Yelling had been too hard for my throat.

"Y-yeah?" she stuttered.

Two minutes ago, I had known just what to say at this moment, but now it all felt stupid. What could you say to the love of your life just before you both would die? How could you ever say anything, that would comfort her? There wasn't a way to make it right. Promises would be broken tonight, I knew it. Yet again, I had promised something, that wasn't in my power. I remembered what my old friend (well, I don't think you could refer to her as a friend, but it's a long story, so a friend will do) Calypso had said, when she had nursed me on her island, Ogygia: "The Fates are cruel." Heck yeah, they were.

I didn't have anything to say, that would make things right, so I just settled for saying:

"I love you."

Her arms tightened around me.

"I l-love you t-too, Percy," she said. "But d-don't worry, this isn't th-the last g-goodbye."

"How so?" I asked.

"We'll m-meet in Elysium," she said and rested her head on my shoulder.

That was true. Although I had thought of resurrection and going for the Isles of the Blest, eternal happiness with Annabeth didn't sound bad at all. That was definitely something I'd have to think about, but the time to think was not now.

"Annabeth, I'm so, so sorry for everything," I said and reached to kiss her forehead in the darkness.

"There's no-nothing to be s-sorry about, P-percy," she whispered. "I w-wouldn't have w-wanted it any o-other way, than b-being with you, t-till the e-end."

"Well I guess I left one promise unbroken," I said.

"What's that?"

"I promised to love you until my dying day," I noted.

"Don't t-talk about d-dying, Percy. We're j-just falling asleep and w-waking up in the Underworld," Annabeth whispered and locked her lips to mine.

Pretty soon my brain went cloudy. I didn't know if I was awake or not. Right then, I didn't even notice, that Annabeth had fallen limp in my arms. I drifted slowly and peacefully deep into unconsciousness.

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**What will possibly happen to them? :o Don't worry, I've got a plan. See you in a few!**

**Until then,**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	15. Unlikely hospitality

**Hey again! I really don't have anything to say, so just enjoy the chapter will you! Reviews are very much appreciated!**

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Thalia's POV**

We were screwed. As soon as I went underwater I saw, that there was no way we could get away alive. We could never save Grover. Grover... The pain hit me. I could never talk to him again, I couldn't tell him how I felt. I couldn't ask him how he'd felt. He could never comfort me again. Questions would be left without answers. Answers I needed to know to make decisions.

'Artemis,' I thought. 'Please, save us from here.'

Artemis was not only my lady, but one of my best friends, in a way. If she wouldn't save us, then, I guessed she didn't need my services anymore. I would accept it. I hadn't been as loyal to her as she would've deserved.

Then another wave of sadness hit me: Percy and Annabeth would never get their parents' blessing. They would die in as good as exile. I prayed Hades to let them get in Elysium. Their love would last forever in the Underworld.

The currents lifted me to the surface. Not a moment too early; I hadn't even realized how low in oxygen I'd been. The night was jet black. I couldn't see a thing. But I still could hear. I heard Percy yell for Rachel, Annabeth and I. I tried to yell back, but I couldn't. The water and the wind had frozen my throat. I couldn't make a sound.

Suddenly I felt something bump into me. Something rather soft and moving. A person, who breathed heavily, tremors breaking her breath occasionally.

Rachel.

"Thalia!" she whispered. Apparently her voice had gone, too.

I was so glad she was there, but as I couldn't say a thing, I just threw my arms around her in a hug. I wanted to show her, that I was there. She was probably glad, too. She must've been pretty shaken. I was, too. I hadn't been quite close friends with Rachel, but I was happy, that she was there. I didn't want to be alone on the edge of my death.

I wasn't sure about where we would end up when in the Underworld. Hades had promised places in Elysium to the hunters, who had fallen in the battle against Kronos, but he hadn't said anything about those, who'd survived then. And I certainly didn't know about Rachel. After all, she was a mortal. What would Hades have in store for us? I didn't know.

About one thing I was sure: Grover would either survive and fulfill his mission or face death bravely from eye to eye. He'd be reborn as a mighty tree, trustworthy and comforting. Maybe the gods would make him another tree on Half-Blood Hill. I could see it: Grover as a mighty oak standing next to my pine tree. Perhaps, if Artemis wouldn't save me now, the gods would return my spirit back into my tree and I could live next to Grover forever.

My consciousness was slipping away. I couldn't feel the cold anymore. Only numbness. Death was peaceful.

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Annabeth's POV**

I woke up with bright sunlight shining through my eyelids.

'Wow,' I thought to myself. 'Hades must've sent us straight to Elysium!'

Then I realized how bad I felt. Every inch of me hurt and my throat felt like there were a thousand bees stinging. I couldn't open my eyes. The salty water had chapped my whole face and probably my body, too. Was this really Elysium? I'd thought there was no pain there. What if I was in the Fields of Punishment, damned into eternal pain? Could Athena have been so cruel? I felt alone, forsaken. Where was Percy? I could endure eternal torment if I could see him. Being without Percy was my personal hell. Well, if this truly was the Fields of Punishment, there would be only agony for me.

Then something occurred to me: if this wasn't Elysium, what was that bright light then? I hated the uncertainty of the situation. With or without the curse of Athena, I still wanted to know things. Not knowing what had happened was the worst ever. This was the Fields of Punishment times gazillion.

Suddenly I heard a voice coming from next to me:

"Have you awoken yet?"

It was a female voice, soft and girly. I assumed it to belong to a girl, about my age. Or maybe a bit younger. Who was this person? I was starting to reconsider my Underworld theory. I'd been in the Underworld and I was pretty sure they didn't care about the dead people's well being. But should I trust this girl? Well, a while ago I'd thought I was dead, so perhaps trusting this stranger wouldn't be the least smart thing to do.

"Yeah..." I croaked. Gods, talking hurt so much!

"I'm glad," the girl spoke again. "Just rest now."

That didn't sound bad at all, but I wanted to know where the others were. Most importantly, where Percy was.

"Where's..."

"Shh, don't try to speak," the girl said. I felt a quilt being pulled over me. "You're safe. And so are the others."

Thank the gods! They were alright!

Knowing, that I would probably see Percy soon made me relax. I was still surrounded with questions like where on earth I was and who was the strange girl. I'd also realized, that we could rescue Grover if he was still around to be rescued. I prayed to the gods, that he was fine. The strange girl hadn't left my side. I could sense her there, right next to me. Soon she started to hum a tune. I didn't recognize it, but it was so beautiful and calming, that I was getting drowsy. That was when I started to get suspicious. Humming a song, that would put me to sleep? That didn't sound convincing. But I was so tired, that pretty soon I gave in and let sleep take me.

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The next time I woke up, I could force my eyes open. I was lying in a deck chair. First I thought I was back at Camp Half-Blood, but when I absorbed my surroundings, I realized, that I'd never been in the place before. I was on top of a grassy hill. There were trees and some exotic plants surrounding me and the sea glittered a few hundred meters away. I felt like I was in a tropical garden, with fruit trees and huge flowers. What was this place? I tried to rise, but I was too weak. My muscles felt like spaghetti.

Suddenly I heard a voice calling my name. It came somewhere behind me. It was a voice I knew.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"Annabeth! You're awake!"

Heck, I didn't want to meet her in this condition.

Rachel appeared beside my deck chair and placed a cool cloth on my forehead.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I said. I was happy to find out my voice was getting back to normal. My throat was still burning, though, but not so badly as it had been.

Then I remembered the strange girl. Who had she been and where was she now? Had she been only my imagination? I finally looked at Rachel. She was wearing strange clothes. A white linen shirt and trousers, that matched. Where had she gotten those? Then I took a look at myself. I wore the exactly same shirt and trousers as Rachel did. Where had _I_ gotten these?

Then another person came next to Rachel. One I didn't recognize at all. This girl had caramel-colored hair and almond eyes. She was about a year younger than me, but her face looked... timeless. Like she'd looked like that for a thousand years.

"You're awake again!" she said and smiled. I recognized her voice immediately. This was the strange singer girl.

"Where am I?" I asked.

The girl offered me a drink, that looked somewhat like apple juice. I took a sip and it tasted like strawberries. Fresh, juicy strawberries. Just like the ones, that grew at Camp Half-Blood. The drink was nectar of the gods.

"No need to worry, you're in my home, Ogygia," the girl said.

Why did the word 'Ogygia' ring a bell? Where had I heard it before? I didn't have to think about it for long, because the girl continued:

"I should probably introduce myself, too. I am Calypso."

Calypso? I'd thought only male heroes could get on her island. I had read about Ogygia from the Odyssey.

"Where's Percy?" I asked. I wanted to see him. That would fully convince me of being safe.

"He's inside. He's still resting," Calypso said with a soft tone.

Percy had met Calypso before. After blowing up Mount St. Helens, he'd marooned on her island and she'd taken care of him. There was some more to that, but I didn't want to think about it. I just thought how this reunion might feel to Calypso, since she'd been forced never to see the heroes, who'd left her island, again.

"Is he okay?" I continued the flow of questions for Calypso.

She nodded.

"He will be just fine, but drowning is quite exhausting."

Thank gods, he was okay! I would see him soon and everything would be fine. We could save Grover and... Wait, there was still something missing.

"Is Thalia here, too?" I asked.

I didn't need an answer, because I heard another voice from behind me saying:

"Of course I am, Annabeth."

Again, thank the gods! Thalia was safe, too!

"So, you're Annabeth?" Calypso asked.

Her tone surprised me. I got the feeling, that she'd been told about me. What did she know about me?

"Errm... yeah, I am," I said.

"Yes, I've heard of you. Percy talks in his sleep and I suppose you already know, that I have met him before," Calypso said.

Again, I was surprised by her tone. It was a tone I used when I talked of Percy. Filled with emotion. Of course! The Fates had cursed Calypso to fall in love with every hero, who got on her island. There was a jolt of jealousy in my stomach.

"Yeah. He's... errm... mentioned that," I mumbled.

"I see," said Calypso and smiled a dreamy smile. "Now, I'll let you three to catch up. I need to tace care of the brave one."

The 'brave one'? Did she always call male heroes that?

Calypso left us and Thalia took her place beside my deck chair. Her face was chalk pale and she looked like she'd lost a lot of weight she couldn't afford to lose. The same applied to Rachel. Thalia, too was wearing same kind of clothes as Rachel and I.

"How are you feeling, Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Good... I guess," I said. Nearly drowning was a shocking experience. I had never been so close to death as I'd been then.

"Gods, I thought we'd all die!" Rachel squealed.

"So did I!" Thalia and I said in unison.

"Have you seen Percy?" I asked.

"I got a glimpse of him," Thalia said. "He was sleeping inside."

Sleeping was good. I wanted Percy to get better as soon as possible. I needed to see him, to talk to him. I wanted to thank him of the comfort he'd given me in the moment of death.

There was another thing I wanted to talk to him about. While in the boat, fighting against the huge storm, I had given a thought to the choice we had to make. Our parents had told us to do what was right. They had also told us to contact Hermes if we wanted to obey them. The storm had made me think. Don't get me wrong, I do love Percy and I couldn't ever stop loving him, but I wondered if it would be better to give up on our parents and obey them and act as friends with Percy. After all, we both knew how much we loved each other. See, if we were to rescue Grover, we needed to get away from Ogygia and to the Monster Doughnut -island and that would mean another trip on a boat. I was sure Poseidon wouldn't let us get through another time. And given that, I thought a full life with my friends would be much nicer, than a shorter one. I could spend eternity with Percy in Elysium, after the long life with him as my friend. I was quite sure Percy would understand. I just needed to speak to him.

Thalia offered me another sip of nectar. After that, the whole drink disappeared into my stomach in no time. I felt one hundred percent better.

"I'd like to see him," I said. "Could you help me up?"

Thalia and Rachel lifted me up and let me put my whole weight on them. Getting up so suddenly made me woozy, but I didn't show it. I wanted to see Percy. Thalia and Rachel walked me down the hill, towards the sea. We passed beautiful plants, marvelous flowerbeds and many fountains and Greek statues. The scent of the flowers and trees was intoxicating. No wonder men had difficulties with leaving this place.

Pretty close the shore was a huge cave. We entered it and arrived in a room, which had four beds beside the walls, with linen curtains around them. Only one bed had the curtains closed. I could see Calypso's shadow behind them. She was working on Percy. I took a glance on the ceiling. There were crystals there, like stars, embedded in the rock. It was beautiful beyond any measure. I tore my gaze off it and concentrated on moving my feet towards Percy's bed. Calypso rose behind the curtains and opened them.

"You shouldn't strain yourself," she said and looked at me.

I didn't look back. My eyes were locked on the boy lying on the bed in a half-sitting position. He looked back at me with his half opened sea green eyes. A smile appeared on his face.

"Annabeth!" Percy said.

I wanted to run to him, but I could tell, that if Thalia or Rachel would let go of me, I'd fall on the hard rock floor, so I just let them walk me to Percy's bed. I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Hey, Percy," I said softly and stroked his hair.

"I'm so happy you're okay," Percy said. His voice was feeble, but I could hear true relief in it.

"Me, too," I said and smiled.

I heard the curtains close behind me and I sensed, that we were left alone.

Percy's other hand gripped mine and he held it on his chest. We stayed like that and said nothing. Words weren't needed in that moment. The sweetness of the reunion was almost touchable. There was no friction between us. Just happiness. We'd survived yet another struggle, hundreds to come. Right then, I didn't even remember the decision that had to be made.

After a while, Percy opened his mouth.

"I love you," he said.

How I'd missed him saying that!

"I love you, too, Seaweed Brain," I said and my smile grew even wider.

In that moment, I remembered the decision, that had to be made. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him whenever I got the chance. Soon, if we'd come to the conclusion, that we should apologize to our parents and obey them, I wouldn't be able to tell him that any more.

I lowered my head and Percy's lips met mine. After hours of horror, kissing Percy felt better than the Isles of the Blest. I could stay in that moment forever. Just me, Percy and the sweet silence. No parents, no friends interrupting us. I wanted to cherish these moments. Make them the most beautiful. That wasn't hard. Apparently, Percy had something similar in mind. Together, we made our kiss perfect.

I hadn't realized how weak I still was. My arms, that I had put all of my weight on, buckled and I fell on top of Percy. That broke our kiss.

"Gods, I'm so sorry, Percy!" I apologized. He was still weaker than I was. Had I hurt him bad?

"It's okay. No harm done," he said, luckily.

Percy pulled my face closer to his and we continued our kiss. His one hand went to my hair, his fingers tangled on them. His other hand caressed my body. It started from my shoulder, found its way down my side and traced the curve of my hip. There it stopped. I felt a jolt in my stomach. This was new. He'd never gone as down as my hips with his hands. They'd always stayed above my waistline. I didn't mind, though. When it was Percy I was talking about, I always craved more. There wasn't a part of me, that wouldn't have wanted him.

I heard the curtain being pulled open.

"I'm... sorry to interrupt, but Annabeth, you should get back to rest."

I was liking Calypso less and less every minute.

Percy brushed a strand of hair off my face and said:

"She's right. You should rest."

"But I just got you back," I whispered. "I don't want to go away."

Percy smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere. Seriously, you need some rest," he said.

Reluctantly I let Calypso pull me off Percy's bed and walk me back outside. Thalia and Rachel were sitting on the grass, next to the cave entrance. My deck chair had been moved there. Calypso put me down and I sunk on the deck chair. Then she went to her garden.

"Have you heard anything about Grover?" I asked.

Thalia hung her head.

"No, we haven't heard anything," Rachel said.

Poor Thalia. I remembered the time Percy was unconscious. It had been pure Hades. It was hard, not to know if a loved one was still alive.

"Are you okay, Thals?" I asked.

"I'm fine... It's just... hard," Thalia answered, struggling to keep her voice straight.

I wished I could comfort her. Just give her a hug or something. But I was stuck in this stupid chair, too weak to lift myself up. I felt useless.

"Are you hungry, Annabeth?"

Calypso was walking toward us, her caramel hair a bit ruffled from working in her garden. Her white Greek tunic had some stains of grass. Nevertheless, she was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. Again, I could see why heroes left this place so reluctantly. Now that Calypso had asked, I was pretty hungry, actually.

"Yeah," I said.

"I'll go and make you some dinner, then," said Calypso and off she went.

I couldn't understand her hospitality. Not at all. I knew, that the time on Ogygia would be... different. How different? I didn't know yet. But it would most certainly be nothing I'd experienced before. And then there was the thing I'd have to discuss with Percy. I prayed to the gods he'd get better soon. I didn't want to upset him before he was fully recovered. On the other hand, I wished I'd never have to mention the matter to him. Olympus knows, I didn't.

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**Did you like it? Hate it? Tell me your opinion! What do you think should happen? Review!**


	16. The decision

**Helloooo again! It was Percy's bday a couple of days ago, I wonder how many of you noticed. :) Be warned, this chappie just might cause you to rip me into pieces. Just remember: I have a plan :D Do enjoy the following text!**

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Annabeth's POV**

Next morning, when I woke up, I didn't remember where I was. Above me, little crystals like stars glittered in the bright light, that shone from outside.

_'Oh, yeah,' _I thought to myself. _'I'm in Ogygia.'_

I tried to raise my hands and, to my surprise, I could do it with no effort. I smiled to myself. Soon we'd be off this island. _'And far away from Calypso,'_ I thought. I had seen how Calypso looked at Percy - with googoo-eyes. I didn't necessarily like it. The worst thing was, that Percy didn't seem to mind it at all. He was all smiley when Calypso was around. Never to mention Rachel. Just when I'd thought I was higher on the list than Rachel, Calypso came to the picture. Just my luck. But the fact was, that neither one - not Rachel, nor Calypso – could love Percy as much as I did. I just hoped, that Percy knew that.

"Good morning, Annabeth!" came a cheerful greeting from the cave entrance.

"Morning, Thals," I answered my best friend.

Thalia walked to my bed and sat on the edge.

"Can you sit up?" she asked.

I wasn't sure, so I tried. With some effort, I managed to heave my upper body against the headboard.

"Not quite, huh?" Thalia said and smiled reassuringly.

"I'll manage."

"Come, I'll help you up. Everyone else is already having breakfast," she said and lifted me up. She helped me change and even offered to brush my hair. I was grateful, of course, but I'd still wanted to be able to do it myself. I had a certain pride. Well, hubris, pride was my fatal flaw.

After helping me tidy myself up, Thalia walked me out, where a little picnic table had been put up. Around the table, the smiling faces of my friends and Calypso greeted me. I was surprised to see, that even Percy had managed to get up and he was eating toast happily, chatting with Rachel and Calypso. The difference between his appearance now, and my memory of him yesterday was unbelievable – his pale cheeks had a healthy gush of pink on them and his whole appearance was cheerful and full of energy. I suppose Calypso had worked some extra magic on him. There she was, smiling at me. Ugh, why did she have to be so damn beautiful all the time?

Thalia helped me to the chair beside Percy and sat on the other side of me.

"Good morning, Wise Girl," Percy smiled warmly at me.

"Hey, Percy," I replied with the same wholehearted smile.

"Sweet dreams?" he asked.

"Divine," I grinned.

Calypso offered me some toast from across the table. I grabbed one and flashed one of my intimidating smiles at her. To my annoyance, she didn't seem to be troubled of me at all. She was perfect to no limits. Ugh!

I tried to hide my annoyance by engaging in a conversation with Percy.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Good," he shrugged. "Still not able to stand, but I'll be fine in a few days."

"That's great!" I shrieked.

Then I remembered the thing I had to discuss with Percy. The time was ticking nearer and nearer inevitably. I tossed the bad thoughts away with the ancient gesture of my hand in a fist over my heart, pulling the evil away. I needed to focus on the positive things: we could save Grover if Percy would get better soon.

Of course, the gesture of warding off evil was not left unnoticed.

"What's wrong, Annabeth?" Percy asked. He placed his hand on my cheek. Concern colored his face.

"Nothing... Just thinking of Grover," I said hastily. Well, it wasn't actually a lie, since I _had_ thought of Grover, but that wasn't the actual reason for me to act so noticeably.

"He'll be okay, I know he will," Percy said and gave me a little peck on my cheek. That made me a little bit better. But only a little bit.

After breakfast we took a stroll in the gardens. The flowers spread their intoxicating scent in the air. It was beautiful. Thalia rolled out a picnic quilt beside a flower bed, where Calypso was planting another colorful flower. An orchid? Percy and I lay down and Rachel and Thalia sat with us. We chattered and laughed, just like there was nothing wrong. There's something in Ogygia, that makes you forget all the bad things in life and get you all laid back. I guess it's healthy, not worrying too much. Maybe that's why we'd gotten better in a really small amount of time.

So there we were, chilling in the garden of Calypso, drinking sodas and nectar, having the time of our lives. Right then, even Calypso didn't get on my nerve, even though she was within ten feet radius, her caramel hair braided over her shoulder, pottering in her garden.

"Has this place changed at all? I mean, since you left before?" I asked Percy. He was deep in his thoughts and he jumped when I addressed a question to him. He looked at me, clearly considering what to say.

"Not at bit," he finally said and turned his face away from me again, looking at the clouds passing by.

"Oh, okay..." I said. I really didn't know what to say to that. He sounded so happy.

"Have you ever regretted leaving this place?" I asked.

For the longest two seconds in the world, he thought about my question.

"Never," he said then. He looked at me, his face sincere. And I didn't believe him.

The chatter continued in the same high-spirited tone as it had started. The nectar was doing its job in our bodies and in a few hours I felt almost as good as new. Percy, too, seemed to be feeling well and he tried to sit up. He did pretty well. In a minute, I was the only one left lying down. I sat up as well. I felt strong and healthy. The feeling rose the same anxiety as at breakfast. I'd need to speak with Percy in private and it had to be soon. It was inevitable. We had to save Grover.

"Percy, have you heard anything about Grover?" Thalia asked. Again, I wondered if she could read minds or something.

"No, I haven't. I'm really sorry, Thals," said Percy. Thalia hung her head and sighed.

"He'll be okay, Thalia. Don't you worry," Rachel comforted her and patted her shoulder.

This little gesture seemed a bit odd to me. I'd never thought of Rachel and Thalia as close friends before, but there was something in the way Rachel comforted Thalia, that made me doubt my own knowledge. Well, I guess nearly dying united people somehow.

Calypso came to us.

"Percy, it's time for you to get back inside to rest," she said.

"I don't need rest. I feel fine," Percy insisted, but Calypso wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I was under the impression, that you have a friend waiting to be saved. If that's so, you'll need to get strong quickly," she said and pulled Percy off the ground. This time he let her do it without any arguments.

"Should we bring Annabeth inside too?" Thalia asked. I hoped they would, because when left alone, we could possibly discuss the matter of a potential breakup.

Calypso looked at me. I tried to keep my face as neutral as I could.

"Maybe it would be wise. She is stronger than Percy, but definitely not fully recovered," she said and Thalia and Rachel pulled me up and The five of us started to walk back to the cave.

I prayed to the gods: _'Please, let them leave us alone so we can talk.' _I wondered how many of the gods were still listening to me. I had made Hera mad some two years ago, Poseidon had never liked me, never to mention now, my mom had forsaken me, Zeus and Mr. D never cared of anyone... I wondered if Hermes was still mad at me about Luke. I hoped not.

Thalia and Rachel set me down on my bed in the cave, and tucked me in. That was highly unnecessary.

"Now be a good girl and go to sleep," Thalia said in a mockingly motherlike tone and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Yeah, yeah," I grimaced.

They left the cave, chatting with Calypso. We were alone.

And I was terrified.

_'Oh gods, oh gods! I gotta do this now! I can't! I love him! No, I still have to do this. What am I gonna do?'_

I had to take a bull by the horns and get this done. I just didn't know how to do it without hurting Percy.

I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of my bed. I hadn't tried to walk on my own since I'd arrived in Ogygia, but I had to do it now, in order to get to Percy, so I stood up, holding on the headboard for support.

"Percy, are you awake?" I whispered. I didn't want to wake him up if he was asleep.

"Nope," came the answer from his bed.

"May I come over there? I'd like to talk," I asked. Was it only me or was my voice small and feeble?

"Sure," Percy said.

I carefully stood up straight, letting go of the headboard. I staggered a bit, but managed to stay up. I took one small step, then another. When I realized, that I was strong enough to walk, I started taking bigger steps and in a minute I was by Percy's bed. He sat up, his back against the headboard and motioned me to sit down. I sat cross-legged on the bed.

"So, what do you wanna talk about?" Percy asked. I suppose he'd gotten the message about wanting to talk about something specific.

It was my time to speak my mind now. I needed to tell him, that we needed to obey our parents and break up. It would hurt him. It would hurt both of us. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. There was no way to say this. Even the thought of breaking up with Percy sent a rush of panic through me.

I heard a weird noise, a sob of some sort. I wondered where the sound came from. Then I felt Percy's finger on my face, just below my left eye.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" he asked, as softly as ever.

The sound had come from me.

Percy pulled me in his lap, his arms crushing me to his chest.

"Hey, it's okay, honey. Tell me what's happened," he said.

I'd never heard him call me 'honey'. It was kinda funny. It sounded weird coming from Percy. But soon he would have no reason to call me that. I was about to ruin everything. I had to. We needed to save Grover. I tried to make my breathing even. Then I pulled away a bit, just to gaze into Percy's eyes.

"Percy, before I say anything, I want you to understand, that I love you more than anything," I said and hiccuped.

Percy looked puzzled. I could tell he didn't have a clue of what was going on.

"I love you, too. But..."

"No, I want you to say, that you understood my last sentence," I interrupted him.

"Yes, I understand. What is this, Annabeth?"

Percy's eyes were dark with concern and doubt. The jade sea green of them almost gray, just like the way his father's were when he got angry. I would make Percy angry and sad today.

"I... It's just that... We... I don't even know where to start," I mumbled.

"Calm down, Annabeth, you're trembling. What's wrong?" Percy asked. He smoothed my hair.

His touch made me calm down a bit, but as soon as I realized I wouldn't be allowed to enjoy his touch in that way made me burst into tears again.

"Oh, come here," he pulled me back into his chest and trailed little kisses on top of my head.

Gods, this was going to be even harder, than I had ever thought it would be. I calmed myself down, pulled away from his chest and tried again.

"Okay," I said bravely. "Just remember what I just told you. That I love you, alright?"

"Of course," Percy said, still really confused about this whole situation.

"So, I have been thinking. We need to save Grover, right?"

"Yes."

"And in order to get away from this island we'd need to take a ferry. Right?" I asked again.

"Yes..." I assumed he was getting closer to the thought I had in my mind.

"I'm quite sure, that Poseidon wouldn't let us pass through his domain alive again. And if there's a legion of monsters waiting for us on the 'Monster Doughnut' -island, we need as much force as possible. Right?"

"Yeah... But-,"

"Thalia couldn't possibly handle all of them alone, so I thought, that if we got our powers back, we could help her and we'd have better odds in saving Grover. Am I correct?" I asked.

Percy's face turned from confused to horrorstruck. Yet, he nodded. Of course I was right. Still, I hated to see the hurt on his face.

"So, what you're saying is..." Percy trailed off.

"I don't think we have any other option," I said. I knew he knew what I meant.

Percy was quiet. His face grew emotionless and his eyes went blank.

"Percy, I..." I tried, but he silenced me with a motion of his hand.

I knew it. I had hurt him bad.

He was silent for a long time. Or at least, it seemed like a long time to me.

"I swore upon the river Styx," he finally said, his voice trembling with some emotion I wasn't sure about. Anger? Hurt? His face didn't give anything away.

"I know. I'm so, so sorry Percy. Just remember what I said at first," I pleaded.

"Then why are you even talking about this?" he asked.

Boys, how stupid, yet adorable they were!

"You need to think about Grover, Percy. And don't you even dare to think, that this isn't hard for me. Because it is. It kills me, Percy. But I can't see another way to save him. We'd still have a long, full life with each other. Only as friends, not... more than friends. I'm not sure what we are. Boyfriend and girlfriend? In any case, we could be friends, just like we were before and when we'll die, we can live together in Elysium forever as a couple," I explained him the whole plan.

"It still wouldn't be the same..." Percy grumbled, but he seemed to sooth a bit.

"Percy, if there was any other way, I wouldn't even think of leaving you," I said.

He looked into my eyes.

"Yeah, I know," he said and sighed.

"There's no hope then?" he asked.

"There's always hope, Percy. It's still inside the Pandora's jar. Hestia will take good care of it," I tried to pull a joke, but it seemed kinda lame.

"Very funny, Annabeth," Percy said, with no smile at all.

"I know. I'm just so, so sorry!" I said again. "And I love you."

Percy pulled me back in his arms and kissed me. This kiss reminded me of the one in the boat, when I'd heard we were sinking. Like we only had this much time left. I hated to break the kiss, since it would be one of the last we'd be sharing, but I had to say one more thing.

"You do understand what we have to do in order to get our powers back?" I asked. Percy nodded.

"We have to talk with Hermes," he said. "He comes here from time to time to send messages to Calypso."

"Really? Well, I think I'd still want to get it done and over with, so we probably should call him like now," I said.

"I suppose you're right..." Percy said. His voice trailed off at the end. Then he did one of the most unpercylike things in the world – he burst into tears himself.

I was momentarily stunned. I had never seen Percy cry before. I had always been the one crying my eyes off when I was upset. Percy had seen me cry a thousand times. Still, I was shaken when he started crying.

I wrapped my arms around him. The way he'd become so emotional made me want to cry, too. I fought it. I wanted to comfort him, not appear as a person who needed comfort, though comfort was the first thing I would've asked right then.

"I love you, Annabeth," he said, sobbing. "I have something for you to remember, too."

"What is it, Percy? I'll remember anything you want me to."

"The song I sang for you back in the tent, remember?" he said, his voice quite even now.

"Yes." How could I possibly forget that?

"Think of it when you're lonely. That way, you'll always remember how much I love you, even though I can't say it to you out loud. That way I won't break my promise to the river Styx. And you."

I couldn't take it anymore. There was too much love in his words. His words were marinaded in sweet, sweet love. We cried together silently, holding each other. This would be the last time we could do so.

**

* * *

Thalia's POV**

I don't know why, but I was concerned about Annabeth. Since she'd woken up here on Ogygia, she'd seemed... different. I would often catch her just gazing into the distance, dwelling in her own thoughts. She sighed a lot. But especially I'd noticed the silent grief in everything she did. Like she knew she had only some time left before she'd die or something. That didn't necessarily lighten up my day.

Calypso was more than welcoming, of course. She was open and joyful and always asking us how she could please us. I guess it was because she didn't get that many visitors. She'd taken interest especially on Percy, whom she already knew. Calypso took extra care of him and it showed: Percy was recovering in maximum speed. He'd soon be ready to fight monsters. Then we could go save Grover!

Grover... I hadn't heard a thing of him since the night we left our campsite a few days ago. I was growing anxious. Things just weren't the same without him here. I hadn't been able to think my head straight, since the times were kinda hectic now, so I still had a crush on Grover, but I wanted to be loyal to lady Artemis. You could probably say, that I was still screwed.

"Chicken or pork, Thalia?" Calypso asked.

We were preparing for dinner in Calypso's dining room. Well, it wasn't actually a dining room. It was another cave in the cavern where the 'bed chamber' was too. I was folding napkins on the table and hadn't been listening to Calypso and Rachel's conversation at all.

"Thalia?" Calypso asked again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was daydreaming. What did you say?" I said.

"Would you rather eat chicken or pork tonight?" she asked and smiled.

"Err... I don't mind," I shrugged and continued with my work.

Calypso left the dining cave, muttering something unintelligible. Rachel came beside me.

"What's in your mind, Thalia?" she asked. Even though we weren't that close, I was kinda happy that someone asked me how I was.

"I was just thinking about Grover," I said. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell Rachel what exactly I was thinking about him.

"I see," she said. "You must really like him, huh?"

Was it that obvious? I felt a lump in my throat and, afraid that my voice would break, nodded.

"That must be really hard for you. Since you're a hunter and stuff," Rachel mused.

_'Tell me about it,'_ I thought bitterly. Why did life have to be so difficult?

My expression probably betrayed me, because Rachel pulled me into a comforting hug. It was such a simple gesture from a friend, but yet she was so sincere and I felt like she really cared. I fought tears. I had my dignity. Only Annabeth was allowed to see me cry. Well, Percy almost dying on Olympus was an exception. Then I'd let all people present to see me cry.

"Thanks, Rach," I said, when she after several minutes let me go.

"No problem, I don't like to see people sad," Rachel shrugged. "Besides, that's what friends are for." She smiled reassuringly. I realized I had gotten another friend for life. I went back to fold the napkins. Rachel sat down on one of the dining chairs and a can of soda appeared in her hand. That was one of the extraordinary things that happened in Ogygia. The food cooked itself, the clothes were washed and folded by an invisible servant. It had taken me a whole day to realize it.

In the middle of my work, Calypso came back with an armful of candles. She set them on the table and started to put them in the chandeliers, that hung from the ceiling.

"Should someone go check on Annabeth and Percy?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, I suppose it would be wise. It's dinnertime," Calypso said.

I offered to go, since I was finished with the napkins. I didn't need to go anywhere, though, because they were walking through the cave entrance, Annabeth supporting Percy. In another situation the fact, that Percy was somewhat able to walk and Annabeth was actually strong enough to support him would've made me happy as ever, but gods, how they looked! Both of their faces were puffy, their eyes were red like someone'd just poked them in the eye with something rather poisonous.

_'Oh no,'_ I thought. _'Who has died? Not Grover, please, not Grover!'_

"What's happened?" Rachel asked. Although she was caring and all, she still had the habit to blurt stuff out of her mouth before considering what she should say.

I watched as both, Annabeth and Percy's faces filled with hurt. Annabeth, who was still under the weight of Percy, hid her face into his shoulder. Rachel and I took two chairs and sat Annabeth and Percy down. Then we and Calypso gathered around them.

"Has someone died?" Calypso was the first to speak. "Your friend..."

Percy shook his head.

"No one's died," he said, his voice thick. He'd been crying a lot. Both of them had. That disturbed me. I'd never seen Percy cry before, so this was a shock.

Annabeth lifted her face up. After sitting down, she'd hung her head, never meeting our eyes. Now, we all could see hers. They were emotionless. That was even worse than Percy's agonized face.

"We've decided to obey our parents," Annabeth said slowly. Her voice was thick, too, yet blank. I could see she'd sealed away her emotions. She did that, when she didn't want to seem weak.

I didn't know what to say. Neither did Calypso or Rachel. There were no words.

"Gods, I am so sorry," Rachel said.

I looked at Calypso. A small tear trickled down her cheek. I felt tears fill my eyes, too.

"Would you like something to eat? We have prepared the dining room for us tonight," Calypso said carefully.

Both of them nodded.

"Come here," Annabeth said and lifted Percy up from his chair.

They walked to the dining table and we brought them the chairs we'd taken away. We all sat down and started eating in silence. Beside the table, there was a small fire burning. We scraped some of our food there. When it was my turn, I prayed to every God I knew – the Olympians and the minor gods, too; Dike, Janus, Hecate... Anyone, whom I remembered.

When we were finishing, Percy was the first one to break the silence:

"We need to talk to Hermes. Do you think he'll come to you soon?" he asked from Calypso.

"He just visited, so I'm afraid he won't be coming over anytime soon," she answered.

"Do you mind if I asked him to come now? We'd like to do it quickly," Percy asked.

We all nodded. How could we possibly not let them?

Percy took a deep breath and scraped the last of his food in the fire.

"Hermes! I want a word!"

* * *

**Sooo... Am I doomed? Are you going to murder me into my bed tonight? Or did you perhaps like it? Or love it? Or something... Just a reminder: Reviews are my fuel!  
Athena's cabin wishes you a nice day!**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC **


	17. Preparations and a shooting star

**Helloo! I have officially moved to Abu Dhabi! Wow, it's a bit different here. Here's a little something for you, that I wrote in the plane and the hotel. You should also listen to 'All good things' - a song by Nelly Furtado. I thought of it while writing this. **

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* * *

**

Percy's POV

"Hermes! I want a word!" I said as I scraped the last of my delicious meal into the flames.

My throat was dry, my hands shook wildly. Annabeth stood up and sat sideways on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. I smoothed her hair.

"Just remember, Annabeth. Come what may, just like I promised," I whispered in her ear.

"Yeah," she said.

I could tell she was crying again and that didn't make it easier for me not to start crying too. I was on the edge of crying, when I sensed someone behind me. Annabeth lifted her face up from my neck.

"Lord Hermes," she greeted the comer. Her voice shook, but she wasn't crying anymore, which made me feel much better.

Annabeth stood up and I got a glimpse of the others, who bowed at Hermes. I turned my chair to face him.

"You summoned me, Percy," Hermes said. He was wearing his usual jogging outfit and winged sneakers. In his hand he held his caduceus, that turned into a cell phone. The two snakes, George and Martha were looking eagerly at me.

_Hello, Percy, _said Martha. _And hello you other people over there._

I greeted the snakes. The others looked dumbfounded, but they copied me.

_You know, an occasional tip would be great. Got any rats? _George asked.

"Quiet, you two," Hermes snapped at the snakes. Then he turned to me again. "Did you have something to say to me or should I just leave, Percy?"

"Yeah... I have a message for you to deliver," I said. My throat had never been drier.

"Okay, let's hear it then," said Hermes and his caduceus turned into a memo pad. He pulled a pen from his shorts pocket.

"Tell our parents, Poseidon and Athena I mean, that we are ready to do what's right," I said.

Hermes looked from me to Annabeth and back with a curious expression and scribbled a note on his pad.

"Very well. I suppose they will visit you in a moment. That'll make two drachmas, please," he said.

_What about us? We want rodents!_ George squealed.

_Oh, George. Give the youngsters a break. They are having a hard time, _Martha scolded him.

"Don't worry, Martha. We'll be okay," I said and handed two golden drachmas to Hermes. Martha nodded.

_You're a good boy, dear. It'll be okay. You'll see, _she said.

Hermes bowed at everyone of us, turned around and jogged away from the cave.

I really hoped Martha was right.

Annabeth sank back on my lap. The others rose from their chairs and gathered to stand around us with grave expressions.

"They will be here soon," said Calypso. "Would you like some privacy?"

I glanced at Annabeth. She looked at me.

"I think we're okay," I said.

"You don't have to leave," Annabeth added. "You are great friends, you know."

"Of course we are!" Thalia grinned.

Annabeth smiled back at her. Then she turned on my lap, straddling me. She wrapped her arms around my neck again and kissed me. This time it was soft, her lips lingering on mine. Her fingers caressed my hair.

"They'll be here any minute now," Annabeth said on my mouth.

For once, she kissed me again. Then she pulled away.

"I love you," she said and rose from my lap.

Not a minute too early, because two seconds later the air on front of us shimmered and two figures started to form there. No, make it _three_.

In a second, our parents were standing before us and you won't believe who was the third one.

Janus.

"Good evening, children," my dad said. His face was expressionless.

On his left, Athena was standing arms crossed, smirking delightfully. Janus stood on Poseidon's right, turning his head so, that both of his faces got a good glimpse of us.

"Evening, father," I said and bowed.

"Hello, lord Poseidon. Mother," said Annabeth.

Our friends around us looked at their toes. All except Thalia. She stared at Janus. I remembered the time she'd met him and felt sorry for her.

"So... We got an interesting message from Hermes," said Athena. It was terrifying how much she looked like Annabeth. Her grey eyes were exactly the same shade and dead gorgeous, just like her daughter's.

"Yes. We apologize for not obeying you in the first place and... we are ready to do what's right. We've learned our lesson," I said. I felt like crying again, but I told myself to be brave. If not for mine, then for Annabeth's sake.

Annabeth said her apologies too.

"I see," said Poseidon. Something like a smile flickered around his mouth, but it soon faded. My dad doesn't smile a lot.

"I am happy to see you doing what's right. And to show my approval of this decision, I will return you, son, your powers to control the water and restore your demigod abilities," he said and opened his fist at me.

I immediately felt stronger and more powerful. I found it hard to concentrate into one thing at a time. I felt the call of the ocean inside me. My father's presence.

And I had never felt worse in my life.

"I have to say, that agreeing with Poseidon is quite disorienting, but I am, too, happy for your decision. Annabeth, my daughter, feel free to think again. You have shown me, that inside you are still able to think wisely," said Athena and she, too opened her fist at Annabeth.

I looked at Annabeth. She blinked once, then twice. Moisture started to gather in her eyes.

"I must say, Annabeth, that I am quite surprised about the decision you made. Or more accurately, about your ability to choose in the first place. I had assumed making the decision would've taken a lot more time," Janus' left face sneered at Annabeth.

I wanted to tell him off, but I didn't want to violate our promise to our parents just yet.

Janus' right face looked at me.

"Oh, and Percy. Didn't I tell you this would happen? That in the end you would have to act disloyally? Ah, resisting your fatal flaw must have been hard. But yet, you two did make the decision together. I am proud of you two," he said.

Annabeth looked at me.

"What does he mean, Percy? When have you talked to Janus?" she whispered.

"I'll tell you later," I whispered back.

Janus' left face turned to look at Thalia.

"I am still waiting for a decision coming from you, Thalia Grace," he said.

Thalia's face flushed scarlet, when she heard her mother's last name.

"I don't know who you are talking to," she said, her voice shaking.

"Oh, I think you know, Thalia," the left face said. "And you sure will have to make the decision sooner than you even realize. If I were you, I'd be quick with it."

Then Janus pulled a silver key from his pocket, twisted it in the air and vanished.

Our parents still stood there, watching us with curious eyes.

"Well, we must be off," Athena said. "We'll see you children sooner or later."

"I am proud of you, son. You did the right thing," my father said and they vanished in a flash of divine light.

**

* * *

**

Annabeth's POV

As soon as my mother had flicked her hand at me, I could feel my brain switch to overdrive. Every battle strategy, every plan I'd ever made returned to me. I felt agile and brisk. My mother's spirit lingered in me. I was supposed to be whole again.

But I had never felt more broken.

When our parents left, the pressure overwhelmed me and I burst into tears. I ran away from the cave, into the bed chamber, fell on my bed and gave in to sadness. I didn't stop crying even when my eyes ran dry. I couldn't stop. I just continued to sob there, on my bed. My eyes burned and I could feel how swollen and blotchy my face was but I was too sad to care.

I didn't know how long I'd cried there, but suddenly the crying stopped. Just like that. All the emotion had come out of me and I was left with hollow emptiness.

"Annabeth?" Thalia called my name from the cave entrance.

_'Just the person I need right now!' _I thought, but then I realized it wasn't true. There was always a person, who I needed more than anyone else.

Yet, I wanted company, so I motioned Thalia in. She sat on my bed next to me and touched my hand lightly.

"I was about to ask if you were okay, but I guess that's a stupid question," she said. Her expression was beyond compassionate.

I held my arms out and thanked the gods Thalia understood my motion. She wrapped her arms around me.

"It'll be okay, honey. You'll see," she said.

"I know," I answered. My voice was hoarse from the crying.

I realized Janus had given Thalia a hard time and I pulled back to see her face.

"Are _you_ okay, Thals?" I asked her. She nodded.

"I know I have a decision to make, but I believe things will go as they are supposed to. The fates hold the strings in their hands," she said.

"I know you'll do what's right. And soon we'll be strong enough to get away from here and save Grover! I can't wait to get into a good fight again!"

I was frightened by the lack of sadness in my words. As if nothing bad had never happened. As if Percy and I had never broken up. Why didn't I feel any pain anymore? How did I stop crying in the first place?

Thalia smiled at my shock.

"Well that sounds like the Annabeth I know," she said. "I still wonder..."

"What?" I asked.

"I've been thinking of the prophecy Rachel gave us. She said, that the quest would end with grief. I can't believe we could be through the whole quest yet, with Grover to save and everything. I was just wondering how much grief you still have to face," she said compassionately.

"Yeah..." I said miserably.

Then I sighed.

"Where's Percy?" I asked Thalia. I had to face him sooner or later. I also wanted him to know, that I wasn't angry with him or anything and that I would be able to live with him as friends. Or at least I thought I would.

"He's probably outside with the others. Calypso is making arrangements and Percy and Rachel are preparing for battle. We're about to leave tomorrow if you're strong enough. Percy says he's just fine," Thalia said. "I _think _he's bluffing, though. I mean, he couldn't even stand yesterday. But if he says he's fine, then..."

"I'm great. We should totally go save Grover!" I said.

"Awesome! We'll leave tomorrow, then!" Thalia grinned. Lucky her, she would see Grover again. Then I remembered, that she had a decision to make and I pitied her. I knew how hard it was. Even thinking about it made me nauseous.

"Do you want to go out? I think it'd do you good to have some practice," Thalia said and I let her pull me off my bed.

"Thalia?" I said.

"Yes?"

"Thanks. You made me feel better again," I said and hugged my best friend.

We walked out of the cave holding hands. Right there, close to the cave entrance, on a grass yard, Percy was teaching some swordplay basics to Rachel, who was wearing a leather breastplate and a helmet. I watched Percy parry her strikes and then attack back. His movements were smooth and well-composed. I felt a twinge of longing, but I pushed it back. I had to concentrate on saving Grover. Tomorrow we'd be done with the quest and then I could get miserable again.

Thalia looked at me.

"Are you sure you can do this?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm a daughter of Athena after all. I can do anything," I said, let go of Thalia's hand and walked to Percy and Rachel.

"You guys up for a threesome, huh?" I asked them. I was awed by the easiness of being normal around Percy.

I will never forget the expression on Percy's face, when he looked at me. I can't even describe it. First it looked like he'd smile and let me join them. Then his face was twisted in an expression of defeat mixed with nonchalance and a hint of bitterness. Can you imagine that kind of expression? Good, then you know how it was.

"I was actually going to have a shower anyway," he said, capped Riptide and walked away.

"Percy, I just wanted to-" I tried, but he was already entering the cave, shoving Thalia out of his way.

My knees buckled. The next thing I knew, Rachel was kneeling beside me. She had taken her helmet off. Thalia ran to us. I lay on my back on the ground and cried.

"Why is he like that?" I asked. My voice was small – just the way I hated it. I detested defeat.

"Maybe he needs some time. He was quite broken after you ran away from the dining room," Rachel said carefully.

"He'll come around, honey. Don't you worry," Thalia said. "He really was upset earlier. You should've seen him... Or maybe not," she added the last when I let out a sob.

"Come on, up you get!" Rachel said and pulled me up. "You still wanna fight? Be warned, I'm getting pretty good!" she said.

That lightened me up a bit. I was eager for some good action.

"Sure," I said and turned to Thalia. "You wanna join?" I asked her.

"No, I think I'll just referee," she said and sat down on the grass.

Rachel put her helmet back on and wielded her sword. By the looks of it, it was one of Calypso's old weapons she had collected from the heroes who'd visited her island. You know, how in the old movies the damsel gives a handkerchief to the knight, who saves her from distress? Well apparently the knights tend to give a sword to the damsel who helps them out.

I pulled my knife from my sleeve, where I always keep it. I hadn't used it for such a long time...

"Okay, it's heroine versus oracle!" Thalia cried. "Fight!"

Rachel attacked me. I was impressed by her speed. I really should give her some more credit. I parried her strike and she backed up a bit. I could be quite aggressive when fighting, so I hoped I wasn't going to hurt her too badly. I got closer to her to get into reach. Like Luke had taught me when I was little, when my blade was shorter than my opponent's, I had to get closer.

It had been almost a year since Luke had died on Olympus. He'd saved us all. I had thought of him as a fraud, but in the end, he hadn't changed much. He'd been my teacher and as good as a brother to me. One moment I'd thought there'd been something more between us, but I'd been wrong. I'd loved Percy all along.

The pain from the thought of Percy woke me up from my reminisce. Rachel was coming at me, her sword raised to a lunge, that would finish me off. I quickly swung my knife and it clunked against the hilt of Rachel's sword. With a twisting movement of my knife, I disarmed her.

"Round one goes for the daughter of Athena!" Thalia cried and she and Rachel applauded at me. I grinned. Victory always felt nice, even though I'd battled against a beginner.

"Wow, you're really good, Annabeth!" Rachel said in awe.

"Thanks. You're really good too, for a beginner I mean. You'll be great with some practice!" I told her. I knew we would never be best of friends, but I could possibly learn to like her.

"Thanks," Rachel said and blushed. "Round two?"

I nodded. "Round two."

* * *

After the sword fighting practice Rachel and I had a shower and we all packed for leaving Ogygia. We hadn't got much stuff of our own, but Calypso lent us some food and clothes. She had made us a magical ferry, that would take us to the Monster Doughnut -island. I was okay. Not good, not bad, but I still wanted to talk to Percy. I hadn't seen him since he'd left us earlier.

Calypso dropped by to give us another set of clothes.

"Thank you, Calypso. You have been irreplaceable!" Thalia thanked her. Rachel and I copied her.

"You're welcome," she said. "I haven't had female visitors in aeons, so this has been quite a change for me."

Before she left the cave, she motioned me to come with her. I left my packing and followed her out, feeling suspicious.

"Do you want to see him?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes, I do," I said and nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then follow me," Calypso said and led me toward her garden.

As we walked, she cautioned me to be careful with Percy. She said he was a complete mess and I shouldn't be taken aback of things he'd say to me.

"Give him a break," she said. "He's heart-broken and sad."

I wanted to tell her to keep her mouth shut. I was heart-broken and sad, too, but I wasn't the one to snap at her. She'd been awful nice to us, even though I knew she had a thing for Percy.

Calypso led me deep into the tropical forest of hers and there, behind the bushes, there was a small white temple. It was like the temple of Athena on Acropolis, but way smaller and kinda cute.

"I built this place when I was exiled here," she whispered. "I wanted to please the gods. I thought it would make some difference. I came here to pray every night. I hardly ever use it anymore, since the gods visit me from time to time in person. I offered the place for him to think in. I'm sure it'll make a good place for you two to make up, too."

She motioned me to go in, turned on her heels and walked away. I knocked on the small wooden door.

"Percy," I called him softly. "May I come in?"

"I guess you may," came the answer from behind the door.

I opened the door and stepped inside. The interior was beautiful! The walls were carved with detailed pictures of the gods and by the back wall, there was a bronze brazier with a fire burning in it, just like the one where we gave our offerings to the gods at camp. In front of the fire, there were pillows and on one of them, sat Percy, his back to me.

I walked closer to him, until I was right behind him. I carefully touched his shoulder.

"Hi," I said quietly.

Percy didn't answer. He stared at the flames silently. I sat on a pillow next to him.

"I just wondered if you'd want to talk about it," I whispered.

I waited for an answer from him. Minutes passed, we sat there in silence and stared into the flames. Finally, after about ten minutes, he turned to face me.

I was stunned. I'd never seen him in that condition. He didn't look like he'd cried, no. He didn't look shaken either. On his face, there was nothing. He looked sickly. His skin was pale in the fluttering light of the fire and there were purple bruiselike shadows under his misty eyes.

My hand flew to my mouth.

"Oh my gods, Percy. I'm so sorry," I staggered.

"The river Styx doesn't like it when you break an oath made upon it," Percy said. "Even though I didn't mean it to happen."

"Oh, yeah," I said. Really, what can you say to a person, who's sadness makes him sick in front of your eyes?

"I'm sorry about how I ran away earlier," he said. "It was just hard to see you and know I'll never be free to love you. I really am sorry."

"It's okay. I understand," I said.

"Friends?" Percy asked.

Friends... The word made my stomach twinge again. Not 'a couple' or 'sweethearts'. Just friends.

Still I nodded.

"Friends," I agreed.

There was an awkward silence and we started to gaze into the fire again.

"So... A big fight coming tomorrow," I noted in a casual tone.

"Yeah..." Percy said.

"I fought with Rachel a bit," I told him. "You'd taught her well. She'll do good tomorrow."

"I'm an awesome teacher," he noted and I let out a small laugh.

"And really modest," I added.

There was another moment of silence. I just wanted to kiss him and have things back how they should be. How they were.

Then I remembered something I had to ask Percy about.

"I'm sorry to bring this up, but you said you'd tell me about the time you had a talk with Janus. Mind sharing it now?"

He nodded slowly.

"Sure. I had this dream, when I was unconscious after drowning. Janus came to me, prompting to make the decision. I refused to even think about..." his voice faded and his face twisted into a grimace.

I felt horrible, having brought this subject up.

"Okay, I get the point," I said. "Let's just think about something else, okay?"

Percy smiled.

"Good idea."

We started to talk about a battle strategy for tomorrow. I did most of the planning, like always. Percy came up with some attack formations. It was just like before the war – when we had been best friends.

After a while of planning, Percy took a look at his watch.

"Traditionally Calypso throws a party on the beach the night before a hero leaves her island. Maybe we should go check if there's a party tonight, too?" Percy said and raised his eyebrows.

"Sure," I said and we stood up and walked out of the small temple.

The sun was just about to set. The blue sky had a hint of purple on it.

"Percy?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"I... Errm... Just listen to the song again, okay?" I smiled at him.

He ruffled my hair.

"Sure thing, Wise Girl," he said.

When we arrived at the beach, the picnic table had been set up there again. Lanterns and torches had been put around here and there. Calypso, Rachel and Thalia were waiting beside the table. I guess they'd known we would come. All three of them came to hug us when we showed up. No one mentioned the way Percy looked.

We sat down on the sand and watched the sun set into the horizon. When the sky grew dark and the stars started to appear, Calypso invited us to the picnic table. She lit the lanterns and torches with a snap of her fingers. Food had appeared on the table: fresh strawberries and grapes, meat with creamy sauce, fries and apple cider... If there was one good thing I could say about Calypso, she certainly knew how to throw a party!

We dug in and chattered happily. I felt light, like all of my worries had lifted for this night. A shooting star shot across the sky.

"Everybody, make a wish!" Rachel yelled.

I closed my eyes and wished from the bottom of my heart. I won't tell what I wished for, but if you're smart enough, you should know. Dreams that are told, won't come true.

I felt something touch my heart – something warm and safe. A blessing of Hestia. She reminded me of Hope, that was still in her possession. She would never give it up and neither should I. I remembered what she'd said after she'd helped us pulverize the Hydra: _"Just remember what is the most important."_ What was the most important to me? Not hard to guess.

There would always be Hope. Also for us.

Come what may, just like Percy had promised.

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Oh, and also you should lieten to Airplanes – B.o.B.!

**Well, this was today's chapter of Come what may. I really hope you liked it. Athena's cabin wishes you a happy evening or whatever!**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC**

**P.S. I love reviews :)**


	18. Surprises

**Hey guys! I'm about to attend high school here in Abu Dhabi and I'm going to an orientation tour in a few days. Hope I don't find any demonic cheerleaders :D My sad mission is to tell you, that my story will soon be at its end. I'd really like to write more, but hey, there's no idea in writing if no one reads it, so tell me: do you want to read some more from me? If you'd like to read something specific, review of PM me. I'd love to hear your ideas! But this isn't over yet. Here's the 18th chapter!**

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Thalia's POV

As morning started to dawn, we all went to sleep. The day had been tiring, full of emotion and preparation for the fight to come. A good party had been just what we'd needed.

I lay on my bed and watched the ceiling, where the crystals glimmered in the faint light of the rising sun.

"Goodnight, Thalia," Annabeth mumbled from the bed next to mine.

"Night, Annabeth," I whispered.

A moment later, I was asleep.

In my dream I was running in a forest. I knew I'd been there before, but I wasn't sure when exactly. I ran through the shrubbery and undergrowth, feeling free like a young bird, who spreads its wings for the first time. Suddenly a silvery figure shot past me, turned around and blocked my path. I stopped and stared at the creature in front of me.

"Milady?" I asked.

The silver deer nodded and a voice inside my head said:

"Yes, my dear lieutenant, it's me."

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I am here to remind you about a promise you have made," said Artemis' voice.

"You've done that already, lady Artemis. When I was at camp, remember?" I said. I shivered. I remembered that encounter too well.

"No, no, Thalia. The most _recent _promise you've made," Artemis said and the deer stepped on its place impatiently, shaking its head.

I tried to remember what Artemis meant. When had I promised something that would have anything to so with her?

"You don't remember," Artemis said. That wasn't a question, just a statement. I didn't like the way she sounded: disappointed. The deer hung its head.

"Well, maybe I'll have to show you, then," said Artemis' voice. The deer stomped its front feet to the ground and a picture, like an I-message formed onto the ground.

First it was hard to make anything of the dark picture, but the sound of waves reminded me of the night we'd almost drowned. I started to get a hang of the picture. There were huge waves, that swerved around something in the water. Or someone. The picture zoomed on the figure in the waves. A girl with short jet black hair wearing a life jacket.

I heard another voice in my head. A voice a thousand times more familiar than Artemis' saying:

"Artemis, please save us from here."

My pleading prayer to my lady.

oOoOoOoOo

I woke and jumped up from my bed. The sun had risen to the sky and the whole cave bathed in light. Annabeth sat on her bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Wow, I have never seen anyone, who's that agile first thing in the morning," she mused.

I felt like I should grin at the statement, but I had something else to think about. I had gotten the answer I needed. I knew what to do. It wouldn't be easy and it would hurt.

"Are the others still asleep?" I asked.

Annabeth motioned towards Percy's and Rachel's beds, where they were still fast asleep. Drool dribbled from Percy's mouth on his pillow. Annabeth saw it and giggled. I looked at her questioningly.

"May I hear the joke too?"

She jumped off her bed and started to change into her battle gear.

"Well, the first time I saw him, he was being dragged to the infirmary and there I fed him ambrosia and he was drooling all over the place. He hasn't changed a bit," she explained.

"Oh," I settled to say. I wasn't sure how I should've reacted. After all, they'd just broken up and everything. I didn't want to bother her before the fight.

"Should we wake them up?" Annabeth asked. "It would do them good to be awake when we leave for the battle."

She was already dressed up in her black camouflage. I couldn't help but wonder how it had gotten here. Well, Ogygia was magical. There was no questioning that.

"I suppose it would be the best," I said and started to change, too.

Annabeth walked to Percy's bed and looked at him softly. A single tear trickled down her cheek. She glanced at me and I turned my gaze quickly away from them. From the corner of my eye I saw Annabeth wipe the tear off her cheek and shake her head slightly. Then she shook Percy awake and went to wake Rachel up.

"Is it time already?" Percy asked.

He lifted his head off his pillow and peered at us through half opened eyes. I didn't have my shirt on and so I covered my upper body quickly with my pajama shirt.

"I'd be delighted if you'd lay your eyes somewhere else than here," I said.

Percy's eyes flew open.

"Oh, sorry Thalia!" he said and squished his eyes closed tight.

Rachel crawled out of her bed and changed to a yellow t-shirt and her breastplate. I put on a top and the silvery jacket of the Hunters. For a second, the color reminded me of my dream, but I pushed the bad thoughts away.

"Okay, Percy. You're allowed to look now," I said and Percy jumped up.

I'd noticed there was something different in the way he looked, but in the light of the flickering fire, I wasn't sure about what it was. Now in the sunlight, I could see.

His face was chalky and his eyes were cloudy. Under his eyes he had purple shadows. He looked sick as ever. I wondered what had happened to him. It couldn't be that only sadness could've turned him from a healthy guy into a sickly one. There had to be something more in it.

Sharing a room with a guy can be hilarious. Percy only had his black boxers on and as he started to tidy up his hair in front of the mirror next to his bed he got a long look from Rachel, who was surprised by his half-nakedness, that she completely forgot all her manners she'd been taught in Clarion Academy and stared straight at Percy's ass.

That was something she shouldn't have done. When Annabeth saw exactly where Rachel had laid her eyes, her grey eyes sparkled dangerously and she pulled her sleeves up, so that Rachel could see the knife, that was strapped to her arm. Just the look of her in her camouflage made Rachel jump and attend to her packing.

Annabeth walked to me.

"You shouldn't've done that," I whispered to her.

She glared at Rachel and said:

"Yes I should."

You just can't reason with Annabeth when she's up to something, so I just let the subject drop.

Then Calypso came in.

"Good morning heroes!" she called and was momentarily distracted by Percy, who had found a pair of shorts somewhere, but was still bare chested (even though I don't like him in that way, it doesn't mean I'm not allowed to admit, that he had some nice muscles there). But the distraction didn't hold for much more than two seconds. Then Calypso's eyes found back to me and Annabeth again (Rachel was still looking at her backpack, poor thing).

"Do you want some breakfast?" Calypso asked.

"It would be great. Thanks Calypso," I said and she went to prepare our breakfast outside.

"Are you done with packing, Annabeth?" I asked. No answer.

"Annabeth?"

I looked at her.

She was looking dreamily at Percy, who plodded along around the cave, gathering his stuff from the floor, still without a shirt.

I was amused. I'd never seen Annabeth like that. She'd always been the one with some kind of a problem showing her weakness, but when Percy was involved, she was soft as cotton. I couldn't do anything but marvel at the effect Percy had on Annabeth. Poor things. They deserved each other.

Annabeth jumped.

"Oh, did you say something, Thalia?" she asked, her face slightly pink.

I laughed and repeated my question.

The red on her face deepened and she answered:

"Yeah, I'm done. Wanna go grab some breakfast?"

"Sure," I said. "You coming, Rachel? Percy?"

"Of course," said Percy, pulled a white tank top on and walked to us.

Rachel finally tore her gaze off her backpack and followed us out of the cave.

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Percy's POV

Outside, Calypso had set a super breakfast. There was anything you can ever imagine! I won't even tell you about all of it, because that would take way too much time.

We ate quickly, since we were all eager to get going. Everyone was looking forward to a good fight. A fare one, with everyone's powers restored and everything. It would've been much more fun if... My insides twisted. I couldn't think about her. If the Fates were cruel, the river Styx was way more evil. Every single thought of Annabeth hurt more than a stab of a knife. All my sadness made a white shade on my face, that made me look sick. I even felt sick. Chiron had been right. The river Styx didn't take a betrayal lightly.

After breakfast, when everyone had their stomach bulging, Calypso took us and our stuff to the beach, where she'd prepared a ferry for us.

"Just tell it where you want and it'll guide you safely there," she said.

"Thank you, Calypso. We couldn't've made it without you," I said from the bottom of my heart. She'd been so much of help, that I would be in eternal debt.

The others thanked her as well.

There was a moment of silence. No one really knew what to say. Calypso would be left alone again. She wouldn't get any visitors in a thousand years or so. I felt bad leaving her all alone on her island, but there was nothing I could do about it. Besides, I couldn't even think about staying with her, now that... No, I mustn't think about it.

Calypso gazed to the ocean.

"Funny," she said, "how only a little time ago I said goodbye to Percy."

I nodded.

"Yeah, it was only about two years ago," I mused.

"Oh, I didn't know anything back then," she said, still gazing to the sea.

I had no idea of what she was talking about.

I suppose my face was shaped like a question mark, because when Calypso looked at me she smiled and said:

"_Then_ I thought the Fates were cruel."

"Yeah, they brought us back to you, I guess they aren't that bad after all," Thalia said, but Calypso shook her head.

"No, I didn't mean that," she said. "The Fates are still cruel. In fact, I think they're even more evil now."

"How come?" I asked. I hated the fact, that Calypso was completely at the mercy of the Fates.

To my surprise, Calypso blushed.

"Well, I'm not sure how to put it..." she said.

"How about just saying how things are. You've been such a warm hostess. We want to help," said Thalia.

Calypso sighed.

"Percy, does that ring any bells to you?" she asked.

Oh yeah, I remembered. I'd offered my help when I was here before. Calypso had said, that the only thing I could do was... But it couldn't be! Or?

"Yeah, errm... It sure does ring bells. You mean...?" I wasn't sure what to say.

"I don't understand. What's going on?" Rachel asked.

I glanced at her and I couldn't help but see Annabeth, who was standing next to her with a curious expression on her face. I assumed she had a clue of what was about to come. She had her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and her beautiful grey eyes sparkled in the sun.

_'My darling Wise Girl. So smart, so beautiful," _I thought and the pain in my stomach hit me – a yet another reminder from the Styx.

Calypso smiled at Rachel.

"I had almost forgotten you're basically a mortal," Calypso said. "You see, I get company from time to time. Usually they are men. You three -" she looked at Thalia, Annabeth and Rachel, "- are the first women who've ever laid their feet on Ogygia. Since my visitors have all been men, the Fates played a little joke on me. They would always send me a man, who could not stay and who I couldn't help falling in love with."

There was a little moment of silence. Calypso had turned her gaze down to her toes. Her face was scarlet.

"Since Percy has already been here once, the rules don't really apply on him," she said. "I suppose you can figure out the rest."

I took a glance at the girls. Thalia seemed to have gotten a hang of things. Her expression was a bit puzzled. I understood her. Or then again, I had never been in that kind of situation before. I just could imagine how uncomfortable that must be. Annabeth looked just like she'd been before – curious. I didn't know what was going on inside her head and was careful not to think about it too much. I wasn't necessarily into masochism.

Then there was Rachel, who, to my surprise, was looking at Calypso with compassion.

"You should go, heroes," Calypso said sadly and motioned towards the ferry.

No one moved.

Rachel was the first to speak her mind.

"This must be really hard to you," she said and took a step toward Calypso, who was still looking at her toes.

"I'm not sure what to think, to be honest. It's a bit disorienting, being the Fates' puppet," she said and slowly raised her head. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"Aww, girl, come here!" Thalia squealed and gave Calypso a hug. She seemed to take the situation pretty well.

"You don't hate me or anything?" Calypso asked. She sounded truly shocked.

"Why would we?" asked Rachel.

"Well, it's a bit unusual, isn't it?"

"Not in our world," Annabeth said. "I go to an all-girls school. I know."

Calypso smiled.

"I'm glad you didn't freak out," she said.

"No way! Well, I admit this is a new situation for me, but I don't care. I think the Fates are treating you really bad. They should give you some slack," Thalia said and smiled widely.

"Thank you, Thalia. You're a good friend. But now, really, you guys should get going. You have got some... what do the people say these days... 'monster ass-kicking' to do," said Calypso.

We all hugged her and stepped on board the ferry.

"You know, Rachel. This place would be great for an oracle like you," Calypso grinned.

"Errm... Thanks, but... Well, thanks," Rachel stuttered.

Calypso laughed.

"Sure, sure. Take care, all of you. You'll be alright," she said and waved and we were off. I got a feeling, that the last sentence was addressed to me and Annabeth.

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Annabeth's POV

On the ferry, Percy tried to reach Grover with their empathy link.

"Grover!" he called for him a hundred times with no answer whatsoever.

Thalia looked miserable. We girls were sitting next to the mast. Thalia held her face in her hands.

"Don't worry, Thalia, he's okay," I told her after the hundredth time. "Percy would know if he was dead."

I turned around and saw Percy sitting near the edge. Poor thing. Grover was his best friend, after all. I knew what it was like, not knowing... When Percy had blown up Mount Saint Helens, I'd lived two weeks not knowing where he was and when Chiron convinced me to think he was dead... Gods, I couldn't think about it. About Percy. In my head I cursed the Fates. I hated all three of them.

Suddenly Percy jumped up.

"Grover?" he asked.

Thalia raised her head and Rachel turned to look at Percy.

"Can you hear him?" I asked hopefully.

Percy put his index finger on his lips. He concentrated, listened. Then:

"G-man! Gods, we were so worried..." Percy cried in triumph and relief.

Rachel, Thalia and I stood up and rushed to Percy. None of us said a thing, but we were curious as ever.

"How is the kid?" asked Percy.

Oh yeah, I had already forgotten the kid. I wondered who's kid he or she were.

Percy's brow puckered, like every time he was worried. Gods, he was so cute when he did that. I had told him that, when we were at war. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of emptiness. Being forced apart, but still being in daily contact was really hard. I missed his touch, his kisses...

"How many?" Percy asked, ruffling his hair. Then, he jumped.

"Gods, that's-" he cried out, but apparently Grover had interrupted him.

"Yeah, but-" he tried again, but Grover silenced him again.

Finally he nodded.

"Okay, Grover. We're on our way. I -" his face fell. "Yeah, I'll tell her that. Bye."

Percy turned to look at us.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"Is he alright?" asked Thalia.

"Who do you have to tell and what?" Rachel asked. The tactless git.

Percy sat down and we copied him.

"They are fine, Grover and the kid," he said, "but the whole island is infested with monsters. There are almost as many as there were on _Princess Andromeda_."

I shivered. _Princess Andromeda_, Luke's former monster infested cruise ship was something you really didn't want to see.

"What do we have to do?" Thalia asked.

"They are trapped in the little safe house of yours. They just need some distraction to get away from there."

That didn't sound too hard. We just needed to plan the situation thoroughly.

"But what was the thing he asked you to tell?" Rachel asked again.

Percy blinked twice.

"He's got something to say to you, Thalia. Something important," he said.

I felt Thalia stiffen next to me. She jumped up and walked to the other edge of the ferry.

"Should someone-" Rachel tried, but I silenced her with a meaningful look.

There was a short silence between Percy, me and Rachel.

"Well, I guess a decent plan of some sort would be in order..." Percy said. "Annabeth?"

I nodded.

"Already making one," I said and drifted into the world of strategy.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The ferry ride didn't take much time. Obviously, the ferry was magical, so it could move in incredible speed, take shortcuts and anything really in order to get in our destination real quick. In a few hours we could see the shores of the Monster Doughnut -island. I had made a plan and explained it to the others. The plan was waterproof. Nothing could go wrong. We were ready.

Percy jumped into the water, when we were close enough to the shore and pulled us to the ground. There was a small tree close by and he tied the ferry on it.

I was getting suspicious. There were no monsters in sight. Only an empty beach.

All of us looked at each other. We seemed to share the same thought.

"Well, Annabeth. You're the boss. Lead the way!" Rachel said. She was eager to get into a fight. Even without the battle gear, she had some spark in her, never to mention _with_ a breastplate and a helmet. She was thrilled to really fight something. This was one of the rare occasions, when I could understand her.

"Okay, let's go," I said and we snuck further from the ocean.

There was a thick shrubbery a few meters from the shore. It couldn't be went around, so I decided to simply go through it. Easier said than done. After twenty minutes of 'ouch's and 'ah's and a million scratches, we made it to a clearing. And boy, what a clearing! The only thing I recognized was the Monster Doughnut -shop. All the surrounding area was full of monsters. It was just like the drawing Rachel had shown us in the boat before. We knelt behind the bushes.

"Percy," I said and turned to him. There was a bad cut on his face from a really aggressive shrub.

"Yup?" he asked.

"See those bushes there, across the field?" I asked and pointed at the shrubs there.

"Yeah, why?"

"Tell Grover to come there with the kid. We'll go around the field-" Rachel threw a nasty look at me. "Yeah, Rach, more bushes to come, sorry. But yeah, around the field and cause some distraction over there, so they can sneak over here. Got it?" I explained.

"Sure, sure," said Percy and called for Grover.

Luckily Grover heard him and answered immediately. This was going to work. I could feel it. Still, I had a bad feeling in my gut. I was thinking about the prophecy. About how this quest would end badly. But I couldn't see how. This would go just perfectly.

"Okay, just keep watch and when you see your chance, run and when you reach the ferry, contact me," Percy said and broke the connection.

"We're ready," he said.

Thalia took the lead and we started to crawl in the bushes. Crawling was a good idea. We got a lot less scratches, but we moved much slower.

"Why can't we just jump up and charge to battle?" Rachel asked impatiently behind me.

"Why won't we just tell Grover and the kid to walk in the clearing drenched in marinade with an apple in their mouth?" I snapped at her. Stupid questions. Rachel shut up.

We continued to crawl. The journey seemed to take aeons. I was sweating like a pig. My clothes clung to my skin and my hair was wet. A black camouflage wasn't necessarily the best item to wear today. Well, no use to regret it now. After all, it might keep me alive in the upcoming fight.

Finally Thalia stopped. I almost hit my nose on her shoes.

"Finally!" Rachel huffed.

"Okay," Thalia said. "When I say 'go'."

"Just a sec, Thals. I'll check on Grover," said Percy. "Grover, are you set?"

After two seconds, Percy motioned thumbs-up.

"They're ready to run," he said.

Thalia turned her head to look at us behind her.

"Rachel?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"Try not to get yourself killed, will you. Just defend yourself, okay?"

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Just worry about yourselves. I'll be fine. Let's kill those creeps," she said.

"Alright, heroes! Let's do this!" Percy said.

"Ok... GO!" Thalia yelled and we charged, four vs. hundred.

Thalia pushed the button on her pepper spray can and it sprang into a spear. Percy uncapped Riptide. Rachel drew her sword. I was thrilled to see a good fight again. I pulled my knife out of my sleeve and glanced around, my demigod senses overdrive.

The monsters were pretty slow. They raised their heads to see who was making all the noise. No one made a motion toward us.

"Hey, nasties! Stand up and fight!" Rachel yelled. "We've got more important stuff to do here!"

Percy clapped his hand over her mouth. There was no need to make the monsters angry. We just needed to get their attention.

Then we heard a screeching voice:

"Why, isn't it Percy Jackson with his crew? You've got some nerve, coming here like that. Don't just stand there, you fools! Get them!"

I looked up. On the roof of the doughnut shop, stood Echidna, the mother of all monsters.

The monsters seemed to go along with the order, since they all drew their weapons and looked at us with murderous eyes.

I looked around, trying to find a quick way out, to be used when Grover would send a message to Percy. I saw a little hole in the bushes. We had to use it. Too bad there were a hundred monsters between us and that escape route...

Some telchines hissed and charged, flanked by a couple of centaurs and _dracaenae. _It was good we'd had much practice in killing telchines and _dracaenae_, since now it would come in handy.

A telchine and a centaur took me as their target. I quickly stabbed the telchine and turned it into dust. The centaur was huge! It was certainly not a member of the Party Ponies. It had a scar across its mean face. His eyes were black and beetle-like. He carried two daggers, both half bigger than mine. I put my invisibility cap on and charged at the centaur. It got confused when I'd disappeared so suddenly. I slashed its front legs as I ran past it. It wailed in pain and stomped its feet, but was still dumbfounded. The other monsters were moving toward us. A _dracaene _slashed at me with her sword. I ducked and quickly stabbed the centaur in the chest and I was done with it. Then I dealt with the _dracaene_.

"Guys! They're ready! Let's go!" Percy yelled. I saw him battling with three telchines at once.

"Right!" Thalia yelled back.

"Not yet, I'm still warming up!" Rachel whined and stabbed a _leucrocote. _

_'Stupid little mortal,'_ I thought, but didn't start arguing. We just had to get out of there.

Thalia started to run toward the hole in the bushes. Thank the gods, she had seen it too!

We ran like hades, but the monsters kept coming. Don't get me wrong, it was a piece of cake, but it would've been much nicer if we could've just gotten away from there. A _leucrocote_ blocked my path. I had never seen one for real, but I had heard about them a lot. They were skeletal horses, that could mimic human voices to lure their prey. I was just about to stab it, but then I heard a voice in my head. A voice I knew better than any other voice in the world.

"No need to swing that knife at me, honey. It's only me," said Percy's voice.

I knew it was only a trick from the _leucrocote,_ but hearing his voice, as soft as ever, calling me 'honey' had a stunning effect on me.

"Annabeth!" Thalia yelled. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

The next few things happened so quickly I wasn't sure how everything had gone, but it was somewhat like this:

I woke up from the trance and stabbed the _leucrocote_. A millisecond later I heard Percy cry in pain behind me. I turned around and saw Percy lying on the ground in front of a monstrous centaur, who held his knife like he'd just stabbed someone.

Before I could react, Rachel slashed at the centaur and he turned to dust.

I looked at Percy, who lay on the ground. He had taken the knife and it had made a deep cut in his side.

"Help me, will you?" I said to Rachel and took a hold of Percy. Rachel was dumbfounded. I realized I still had my invisibility cap on and she couldn't see me. I took it off and Rachel jumped.

Thalia ran to us.

"No need to explain, cover us!" I said. Rachel took a hold of Percy's legs and we were off.

Note to self: do more push-ups! Percy was what someone would call 'heavy'. Sick of not, he still had that muscle on him.

Thalia had turned into a killing machine. The monsters charged at us, she blocked the way from them and stabbed them. We were so close to the exit, when Echidna walked on our way.

"You killed my army, girl," she snarled at Thalia, who stuck her tongue at her.

"Bite me," Thalia spat.

"You asked for it, girl!" Echidna growled and drew two swords.

Rachel and I put Percy down and went to flank Thalia.

"Watch out for the swords!" Thalia cried. "The blades are poisoned."

Just like Kampê's scimitar.

With a yell Echidna slashed at us. I dodged and maimed her arm. Thalia stabbed Echidna's shoulder with her spear. Rachel, the git had left her sword on the ground when she'd picked Percy's legs up. She found a hammer from a fallen telchine and swung it at Echidna, who wailed in pain as the hammer hit her knee.

"You little mortal! I will kill you the most painfully!" she screamed.

"Over my dead body you will!" Thalia yelled and swung her spear, hitting Echidna in the head.

While she was dizzy from the blow, I jabbed her in the stomach and she was gone.

Thalia helped me and Rachel to carry Percy to the ferry. Grover was waiting for us on the shore. I saw a little girl, about seven or so, sitting on the ferry, her back to us.

"How did it take you guys so long?" Grover asked as he walked to meet us. "I was getting worried!"

Then he spotted Percy.

"Uh-oh. He needs some healing."

"Percy, how are you feeling?" Rachel asked him.

"Bad," Percy groaned.

We carried him to the ferry and put him down. Percy's face was even paler than it had been. It was almost translucent. He was bleeding too much. Was this it? _The quest will end in grief and mourning... _

Grover pushed us away from the shore and told the ferry where we needed to go: to Camp Half-Blood. Home.

In times like these, it's hard not to lose hope. I looked at Percy. His breathing was feeble. He reminded me of the time when he'd almost died on Olympus.

"You silly Seaweed Brain. Why did you take that knife? You're not invincible, remember? Styx isn't on your side anymore," I said to Percy.

"You did the same for me," he said.

True. I'd taken Ethan Nakamura's dagger for him when we were at war against Kronos.

"How did you even know the centaur was about to stab me? I was invisible," I asked.

"I just felt like he was aiming at something too important," said Percy. I blushed slightly.

"Yeah. You rest now. It'll be okay," I said.

"Is he going to die?" came a small voice behind me.

I turned around to face the little girl Grover had rescued. She was small and she looked agile. Her blonde curly hair went on her shoulders. She was dressed in what I thought was a school uniform. Apparently they had left the school in a hurry.

"Is he?" she repeated.

She sounded sad. She was looking down at Percy, so I couldn't see her face properly.

"No, he isn't. Don't worry," I told her. I tried to sound convincing and calm. There was no need to scare the little one.

The girl lifted her head.

I was startled by her face. She was really cute. Her cheeks were plump and I could swear, that if she would smile, she would have the cutest dimples ever. But the most disorienting thing wasn't the cuteness of her – it were the eyes. Her eyes were almond shaped, framed by long dark lashes.

As for the color of them?

It was the most startling grey.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked and blinked.

I crouched down to her level.

"You have very pretty eyes, you know that?" I asked.

"Thanks. Yours are grey too!" she said and smiled. Like I'd guessed before, she had the cutest dimples I'd ever seen.

"You're a very nice girl. What's your name?" she asked.

"Annabeth. What's yours?"

"Pretty name. I'm Lucy Adams. Is he your boyfriend?" she asked and pointed at Percy..

I blushed. I hadn't talked to a kid as young as this one in a long time and I hadn't remembered how straightforward they could be.

"No," I said. "He's not my boyfriend."

Lucy looked back at Percy.

"Oh," she said and turned to Thalia.

"You've got weird hair."

Then, I got an idea.

_'Mother,'_ I prayed. _'please come determine my sister. And bring Poseidon, will you?'_

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Wow, that was long! :) I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to answer my question: would you like to read something new from me?

**Athena's cabin wishes you a lovely day!**

**Peace, love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	19. Homecoming

**Hey guys! In this chapter Percy is going to show some major (seaweed) brain function! He's learned a little lesson from his old man. I still want to remind you all to answer my latest question: should I write more and if I should, what? Review me!  
But now I'm gonna let you read this little baby. Enjoy!**

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Annabeth's POV

I didn't have to wait for long. The whole ferry shook as two Olympians appeared next to the mast. Others on board jumped. They hadn't been waiting for a visit.

"Lord Poseidon! Lady Athena!" Grover bleated. The gods bowed slightly at him.

"Good afternoon, master Underwood," said Poseidon.

I glanced at Lucy, who stared at our guests with a surprised look. Mom looked back at her softly.

"Hello, Lucy. You've grown since I last saw you," she said. "Still making straight A:s at school?"

Lucy nodded proudly.

"Yes, ms.," she said. "But how did you know?"

Athena turned to Grover.

"How much have you told her?" she asked.

"Not much, lady Athena. We had to leave in a hurry and the island was so full of monsters, that if she'd known everything, we would've been eaten in a flash," answered Grover, fondling with his shirt collar.

"Okay. I assume Chiron will explain her everything," said Athena and turned back to Lucy.

"Lucy, the time will come for answers, but meanwhile, take this," she handed Lucy a silver chain with a silver owl charm on it. Lucy put it around her neck.

"Pretty. Thank you, ms.," she said.

"Now, why did I have to tow old Mr. Barnacles along?" mom looked at me.

"It's about Percy. He's been hurt," Thalia said.

Athena glanced at her.

"Oh, well. Poseidon?" she said.

"Yes, I must speak to him," said Poseidon.

"You've got a funny beard," Lucy told Poseidon. He looked shocked.

"What's so funny about my beard?" he asked. Lucy shrugged.

"Dunno," she said and turned to Grover, who scooped her up and took her to the other side of the ferry to play.

"I'm curious. What exactly happened to Percy?" mom asked.

"Well, he took a knife for me," I said truthfully.

"He did? Well, that's his fatal flaw in action again," she scowled.

"Mom! He saved my life!" I cried out.

"I know, but stupidity isn't rewardable," mom said.

"_Bravery_ is!" I argued.

"The girl's got a point there," Poseidon interrupted us. Then he looked at Percy. "Yet, I can't understand why you did it, son."

"Some fish just are too big to release. I have learned it the hard way," Percy said and winced.

I had no idea what he was talking about, but Poseidon seemed to grasp the concept.

"He's losing too much blood, lord Poseidon. Help him, please!" Thalia pleaded.

Poseidon looked thoughtful for a second. Finally he said to Percy:

"I am proud of you, son. You have learned to know which fish are big enough to land." To Thalia he said: "Pour some sea water into the wound. It will stop the bleeding."

Thalia and Rachel followed the instructions.

My mother looked puzzled.

"This might sound weird coming from me, but I haven't got a clue of what's going on here," she said. I suppressed a chuckle.

"Yet I can't understand that boy's need to save everyone. It's not that I am not grateful for saving my daughter, but still..."

"I like that bleeding boy. Did he _really_ save you? Grover said he did," asked Lucy. When had she come back? Well, you never know with those little kids. They come and go.

"Yup," Rachel told her.

Lucy looked from me, to Percy, then to my mother and said:

"He must really like you."

The atmosphere was tense. The conversation had taken a dangerous course. Athena was glancing at the people around, from face to another. Poseidon eyed her meaningfully.

"Alright! Alright," mom cried suddenly.

"Poseidon," she said.

"Yes?"

"So what you're saying is, that you approve of your boy's actions?" mom asked.

"Yes, I do. He has shown me, that he can both be my son and like your daughter. His last answer just proved it," Poseidon nodded.

I couldn't believe my ears. Of course, Poseidon had always been more laid-back than my mom, but I felt hope more powerful than ever rising in my chest.

"Well, then..." mom said and walked to Percy, who's wound already looked better. Go Poseidon, go!

"You have done a great favor for me, Percy and as it is accustomed, you may ask for something from me.

"_Anything_?" Percy asked. Athena nodded.

"Anything, that's in my area of expertise. For example, I could make your brain function better..."

Oh. My. Gods. This was better than I'd ever imagined. I just hoped Percy had similar things in mind as I did.

"Will you swear it upon the river Styx?" Percy asked.

_'Good one, Percy!_' I thought. She wouldn't be able to decline the request now.

"Well, if you insist. I swear upon the river Styx, that I will give you anything that's in my area of expertise. I suggest you decide quickly. I haven't got the whole day, you know," said mom.

"With all due respect, lady Athena, I think you already know what I want," Percy said, still smiling.

Mom looked at me, her face horrorstruck. I could _hear_ her brain function and I was sure, that inside her head there was a little voice was chanting a mantra: _Don't let them, let them, don't let them, let them._

"I promised myself, that I would never agree with Poseidon," Athena said, her face straight.

I crossed my fingers behind my back and prayed to Aphrodite and Eros and anyone else, who could help with this matter.

"And besides _that_ most certainly isn't in my area of expertise. Foolishness doesn't belong to me."

"But thoughts do," said Percy. "And as I have heard, your children have sprung from _your _thoughts. I really think they belong in your area of expertise."

Thalia shuffled closer to me and took my hand in hers. I squeezed it tightly.

Athena stared at Percy, surprised.

"For the first time of my life I can't say anything back," she said.

"So?" I asked.

"Well, since I swore upon the river Styx, I can't do anything about it," mom said.

I couldn't believe it! This was perfect!

"Oh, gods! Thank you, lady Athena!" Percy cried out. "And you, father."

"Yes, thank you. Both of you. I can't thank you enough!" I felt I could jump and dance from joy.

"Thalia, did you hear that?" I turned to my best friend.

"Yeah. Gods, I'm so happy for you!" she squealed and hugged me.

"Oh, this is precious!" Grover sighed. He was all fuzzy, now that there was so much emotion going on.

I was so happy I even hugged Rachel. She was surprised as I jumped at her and squeezed her tight.

Then I looked at Percy. He was still lying there, but he looked 100% better. The color had returned to his cheeks, his eyes were bright and a lovely sea green color. Styx had forgiven him. He looked back at me and smiled widely. Then he turned to look at our parents.

"Why won't you two just let go of the grudges?" Percy asked them.

Poseidon and Athena looked at each other.

"We agreed once, but that's it. I won't be friends with Barnacle Beard, no way." Athena shook her head.

"Besides, what's fun with being all friends and everything? Fighting, that's my thing," said Poseidon.

"Yeah, so don't expect this to turn into a habit," Athena finished.

"Oh, look! We've made it!" Rachel pointed forward.

Yes, I could see the beach of Camp Half-Blood ahead. We were back home.

"Well, I guess this was it, then," Poseidon said. Then he turned at me.

"Apparently I have been wrong about you, Annabeth. You seem to have made some permanent changes in my son and it kinda suites him. Take care of my boy, will you? I hear he's often in trouble," he said and offered his hand at me. I shook it firmly.

"I will, lord Poseidon," I said.

My mother stepped toward Percy.

"I might've underestimated you, Percy. I can see there's no way to tear you two apart. But mark my words, if you _ever_ hurt her-"

"I won't. I swear," said Percy.

"So are you, like, giving us your blessing?" I asked our parents.

They looked at each other again.

"I guess we are," said my mom.

"We hereby give you two our blessing. May the other gods bless you, too," said Poseidon.

"And may your years together be full of... well, love," Athena continued. "I'm going to need lots of therapy after this. There's a lot to get accustomed to," she huffed.

With those words, the two gods vanished with a blinding flash. We covered our eyes.

"So now he _is_ your boyfriend? Can't you just make a decision and stick with it, huh?" asked Lucy.

I looked at Percy. He was already looking at me, his eyes warm and soft, smiling widely.

"I guess we can't," I laughed.

As the ferry touched the sand, Rachel jumped off the ferry and held the rope long enough for Thalia and I to carry Percy to the shore. Grover lifted Lucy on his shoulders. I smiled at them. I guess Grover had been a great nanny for her.

I was happy to be home at camp at last, but I was afraid of my siblings' reaction. They had been angry with me when we had left camp and I just hoped, that they had had enough time to cool off.

As we walked from the beach towards the Mess Hall, we ran into some guys from the Hephaestus cabin. They were about to go put up the fireworks for tomorrow.

_'Gods, is it time for fireworks already?'_ I asked myself. The summer had gone so fast.

"So, I see Percy is at his usual state, huh?" a guy named Henry grinned.

"Yeah," Percy grinned back.

"You manage, girls?" he asked me and Thalia. We nodded.

"Sure. He's got a big head, but I think we'll be okay," said Thalia.

"Shut up, Pinecone Face!" Percy shouted playfully.

Thalia rolled her eyes.

The Hephaestus boys laughed and we continued our journey to the Mess Hall. There was no one there. I guess everyone was at their activities or something. As we passed the cabins, something unexpected happened:

The first thing I heard was a yell:

"Annabeth! Hey guys, she's home!"

Then ten blonde campers charged from cabin six and ran to us. I put Percy's legs down carefully and ran to meet my siblings.

"Gods, we missed you!" Malcolm said as he gave me a tight bear hug.

"Yeah, things haven't been the same when you were gone," said Jenny. "I'm so sorry about our attitudes!"

"It's okay, Jenny," I said.

Apologies kept coming from all of my brothers and sisters. Then someone actually noticed the others, who were standing where I'd left them, Thalia still holding Percy's upper body. They all smiled widely.

My siblings ran to them and apologized to Percy and said hello to Thalia, Grover and Rachel. No one paid attention to Lucy, who was still on Grover's shoulders, playing with his tricolored Rasta cap.

"Sorry about the last, man," Malcolm said to Percy.

"No hard feelings," Percy answered and shook Malcolm's hand.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Jenny asked me. "I mean, our mom and Poseidon took away your powers and everything."

"Well, actually..." Rachel started, but I silenced her with one of my bad looks.

"You'll see," I said and winked at Percy.

"Who are they, Grover?" Lucy asked.

My siblings went quiet.

"Why, who's this?" one of my sisters, Heather, asked.

"I'm Lucy Adams. What are your names?" Lucy asked. She wasn't one to shy away from strangers.

Everyone told their names to her. She nodded.

"So now we know each other," Grover smiled.

Athena's cabin joined us on our journey to the Big House. From far we could see, that on the porch, Chiron and Mr. D. were sitting and chatting (well, Chiron wasn't actually sitting, but anyway). Mr. D. was sipping Diet Coke from a can, just like he always was.

"Chiron!" Grover shouted.

Chiron's head bounced up. When he spotted us, he trotted to meet us.

"Children! I'm glad to see you alive. I was getting worried, when I didn't get any message from you. Oh and I see Grover had succeeded. Hello, Lucy!" Chiron said.

Lucy's mouth opened in surprise.

"How do you know my name?" she asked Chiron. Then she turned to Grover and whispered:

"There's something funny with that man. Why is he a horse?"

We all laughed.

"Grover, why don't you go and watch the orientation film with her?" Chiron asked and motioned towards the Big House.

"Sure. Come, Lucy," said Grover and they ran inside.

"So, I see camping did you guys good," Chiron laughed.

Percy, Thalia, Rachel and I glanced at each other and laughed, too.

"Totally," Thalia grinned.

"My, my, Percy _what_ has happened to you?" Chiron asked and pointed at the wound on his side. It looked better, but it would need a bandage.

"You know him. He never gets away from anywhere without some bruises," said Rachel.

"Yes, I guess you're right," said Chiron. "Can you walk?" he asked Percy.

"I haven't tried yet. My carrying service has been so good I haven't even dared to ask if I could try," Percy grinned.

"Well now you may try," Thalia said and we put him down. He took a step, then another and another.

"He can walk," Thalia said with mocking bitterness. "We carried him all the way from the beach and he could walk all along!"

"I owe you one," said Percy.

"You owe us big time, Seaweed Brain!" Thalia said and nudged him slightly.

"I also see you've sorted things out with your cabin," Chiron smiled at me.

"Yeah. Siblings tend to fight occasionally," I smiled back.

"Won't you all come and sit on the porch? I assume we'll be hearing an exiting story from these four," Chiron said and we all followed him to the porch.

"Afternoon, Mr. D.," we all greeted our camp supervisor in harmony.

"Yada, yada," he muttered and lulled inside.

"Always the sunshine," Jenny noted.

"Yes, Dionysus was under the impression you four had been eaten by monsters and he would never have to see you again," Chiron said and suppressed a smile.

We sat down and told people our story. Or at least the beginning, because we had some arguments about how things had gone and before we'd gotten started Chiron looked at his watch and said:

"Oh, look at the time! We must hurry to dinner. Tonight, there will be a special bonfire party for our little spark Lucy. Has she been determined yet?"

Rachel nodded.

"Who's is she?" Malcolm asked.

"Oh, didn't you see, Malcolm?" Thalia asked.

"No, tell me," he said.

"She's an official member of cabin six," I said.

"Awesome! She could be in our left invader troops when she gets better with a sword," Heather cried out and our cabin was in the middle of strategy.

"Move along, children!" Chiron said and we all started to walk back towards the Mess Hall.

Grover and Lucy were already there. They were waiting for us just outside the pavilion.

"Wow, was that lady _really_ my mother?" Lucy asked. "I thought she was just a substitute teacher. She was in my school for a week last November," she babbled.

Chiron nodded.

"Yes, Lucy. She was Athena, the goddess of wisdom. See these blonde kids here? They're her children too," he explained.

"Oh," Lucy said. Her mouth hung open. Then she smiled.

"Is that girl my sister too? She's awful nice!" she pointed at me.

"Yup, I am," I smiled.

"Cool!" Lucy cheered.

We joined the rest of the campers in the pavilion. Lucy came to sit with us at Athena's table. Thalia got a special permission from Chiron to sit with Percy at Poseidon's.

In the middle of homecoming celebration, I had almost forgotten about one thing. Percy and I. We were free now. Our parents had given us their blessing. We could be together and no one would have anything to say about that. I just wished I could get Percy only for me for a while.

After the meal my siblings ignored my protests and dragged me in our cabin, where I told them about our adventure, except the parts including mine and Percy's struggles. I had a plan. A plan that would earn me the leadership in our cabin again. Lucy came along with us and I was glad about the fact, that she kept her mouth shut about what had happened on board the magical ferry.

In the evening all the cabins gathered up at the amphitheater, where the Apollo cabin had arranged a huge party for me, Percy, Rachel, Thalia, Grover and most especially Lucy.

We sang, we ate and we drank. Everything was back on their tracks. The other campers welcomed us back with open arms and it seemed as all grudges had been hidden away. Nico, who hadn't known anything about our trip came running at us and after telling us off, he went on babbling about how he would've wanted to go with us, how he'd been bored at camp while we were gone and how he was happy to have us back. Even Clarisse came to welcome us back, telling how she missed kicking Percy's ass and arguing with me. She absolutely loved Lucy. It was funny to see how such a tough girl went all nuts for a little princess like Lucy.

Although I loved the party and the warm atmosphere of it, I was tired from the trip and I got drowsy pretty early. I said goodnight to everyone else and walked away from the amphitheater. It was nice to get some time alone, just listen to the quiet sounds of the night, that blended with the noise of the bonfire party.

In the commons area, between all the cabins (much more than twelve now, that all the gods had been given own cabins at camp), by the bronze brazier stood a nine-year-old girl, who poked up the fire.

"Good evening, Lady Hestia," I said politely.

"Evening, Annabeth," Hestia smiled. "I see you have returned to your hearth."

"Yeah, I just got back today," I said.

"I have to tell you how very glad I am, that you remembered me when in difficult situation," Hestia said and poked the coals in the brazier.

"Well, I just remembered something you said after pulverizing the Hydra... About what's important," I said, gazing to the coals. "It made me feel hope."

"I know, child," said Hestia. She smiled. "I rarely give my blessing to anyone. No one notices me that much, but you, Annabeth, you and Percy have shown true respect toward me and I never leave that unrewarded."

"Thank you, lady Hestia. For everything," I said. She nodded slightly.

"Goodnight now," she said.

"Goodnight."

Inside my cabin I went straight to bed. I was dead tired. But I was happy. I had never been happier. It was days like these, that kept me going. Camp Half-Blood had never felt more like home. My whole family was here. We had occasional fights, yes, but still, they were family. All my friends were here and particularly Percy. Percy, who had been ready to die for me. Silly Seaweed Brain. Gods, I loved that boy.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep happily.

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**This ain't the end yet! Keep your tabs up for the next chapter! I really hope you liked this one. Please review!**

**Athena's cabin wishes you a happy Easter! (what?)**

**Until next time,**

**Peace, Love, PJO!**

**Luv,**

**AC**


	20. Until the end of time

**Whew, I had my high school orientation today. It was cool. No she-demons or anything. But ironically enough I made friends with this red-haired girl. :'D  
****Oh, by the way, listen to 'Can't take my eyes of you' by Muse and 'Strange magic' by Darren Hayes if you ever feel like it! Haha, soon I'll be able to make a whole playlist of inspiring fic songs :) But hey, now on with the chapter, which will be the last of 'Come what may'.**

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Percy's POV

The next morning, when I woke up the first thing I remembered from the day before was, that I was allowed to love my Wise Girl. That thought gave me energy enough to jump up from my bed and start to prepare myself for breakfast. In the middle of partying last night Annabeth had asked me not to give any hint towards the fact, that our parents had given us their blessing. I was suspicious, I gotta admit, but when it's Annabeth we're talking about, I often didn't quite understand her. I suppose she had a plan.

I pulled on my camp t-shirt and a pair of baggy denim shorts. I tried to smooth my hair in front of the mirror, but nothing came out of it. I guess I'll never get my hair stay put. After brushing my teeth, I took off towards the Mess Hall to have breakfast and most particularly to see Annabeth. In the commons area I saw Grover, who was heading towards breakfast, too. I joined him and we walked to the pavilion together, chatting about this and that.

The pavilion was packed when we got there. People had apparently waken up early.

"Hey guys!" Rachel yelled from the Apollo table when she saw us coming. She jumped up and ran to meet us.

"Morning, Rachel," I said. "Are Thalia and Annabeth here already?" I glanced around to look for them.

"Thalia's not here yet, but I guess it's Annabeth, who you are _really_ looking for," Rachel said and grinned.

Then I saw her. She sat in Athena's table, surrounded by her siblings, munching an apple. I marveled at how cute she looked today. She was wearing her orange camp t-shirt and her curly hair had been pulled in a ponytail, as usual. She never tried to look good, yet she stunned me over and over again.

"Off you go, Lover Boy," Grover grinned and patted my shoulder. I smiled at him and walked to table six.

"Morning Percy!" came a greeting from many fair haired campers. Even Lucy had memorized my name.

"Morning, guys!" I said back and then looked at Annabeth, who sat on the bench with a half-eaten apple in her hand, her face slightly pink.

"Hey, Annabeth," I said. All her siblings turned to look at her.

"Hi, Percy," she said and waved at me with the hand, where she held her apple. "Sit down. Or then again, don't." She smiled and looked at the already crowded table.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask from Athena's cabin," I said.

"Let's hear it," said Jenny, one of Annabeth's sisters.

"I was wondering if you'd take me in your team in 'Capture the Flag' this evening. You'll get my afternoon shower time. Deal?" I was glad I'd once won a match against the Stoll brothers. It had cost them their cabin's shower time. The best one there was, just after the afternoon practice, before all others.

"You don't have to give up your shower time..." Malcolm said, but his siblings, including Annabeth, glowered at him so ferociously, that he just shook my hand.

"You've got yourself a deal, Jackson!" he said.

"Great. I'll see you later. Bye, Annabeth!" I said and went to sit in my table. I soon got company from Thalia, who lulled up the hill to the pavilion and sat opposite me.

"Morning, Pinecone Face," I said. "Why, don't you look dashing this morning."

That was sarcasm, of course. The shadows under her eyes related to a sleepless night.

"Ha ha, Seaweed Brain," Thalia scowled at me.

"Sorry, Thals. You should see your face," I said.

"Yeah, well... I didn't sleep well," said Thalia and picked her toast.

I didn't know how to answer to that, so I just kept quiet.

We ate mostly in silence. When we were ready, we walked down the pavilion hill together, down to the canoe lake. We sat on the shore and threw pebbles in the lake. Soon we stopped that, when a bunch of aggressive naiads attacked us with their unfinished baskets.

Suddenly something nudged me hard in my back and I fell in the water.

"Who was it?" I spattered as I got back to the surface. I looked at the shore, but there was no one there, but Thalia, who was laughing her ass off. Apart from her laugh, I heard another voice, coming from right beside Thalia, just where I'd been before.

"Shut up and help me out of here, Annabeth!" I shouted and splashed some water at my invisible sweetheart.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain, take my hand," I heard her voice say.

"I can't see your hand, Wise Girl," I noted.

"That's the whole fun!" said Annabeth.

I tried to find her hand. No use. Then I splashed some water at her again and saw it hit something, just a few inches away from my own hand. I took a hold of Annabeth's hand and she pulled me out of the water. She might've pulled a little too hard, because the next thing I knew was, that I was lying on top of something invisible and moving.

That something laughed and grabbed my face and pulled it closer to what seemed to be the ground, but before I hit my nose on the grass, I felt Annabeth's lips on mine.

The feeling was bizarre, yet wonderful. I had never kissed Annabeth while she was invisible and it felt weird, but I had missed her lips against mine. Her fingers tangled in my hair and her other arm wound around my waist. My hand felt its way to Annabeth's face and I stroked her cheek. I wanted to feel her hair, too, but the cap was in my way. I simply took it off and my hand flew on top of her head. I smoothed her hair. They were silky and smooth, just like I remembered them to be.

Annabeth's lips parted slightly and I felt her tongue trace my lower lip. I obediently let her enter my mouth. She pulled my hair a bit, to lower my face closer to hers. My lips pressed against hers with more force. Her tongue explored my mouth and wrestled with mine. I forgot the time and place.

Then, Annabeth bended her knee slightly and it rubbed against my crotch. Gods, I had never felt like that before. But I didn't want our relationship to move forward too fast. I needed to fight my need for her, although at the moment she made it really hard for me. Literally.

A groan escaped from my mouth.

"Something wrong, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, ending the kiss.

"No, you drive me crazy," I said, pecked her cheek once and rolled off her.

Annabeth propped herself on her elbows.

"I love you," she said softly.

Gods, how I had missed her saying that!

"I love you," I replied and touched her face.

Then I noticed, that a hard-on was starting to form in my shorts. I quickly sat up to cover it. Man how embarrassing it would've been if Annabeth had seen it. I wasn't sure if I wanted her to know exactly how she had made me feel.

_'Heck, this ain't good,'_ I thought to myself. I really had to focus on keeping some control over myself when kissing Annabeth.

I took a long look at Annabeth. Her camp t-shirt was damp from me splashing the water at her. Some strands of her hair had escaped her ponytail and they hung on her face, some over her smoldering grey eyes.

Then I remembered Thalia. She was still sitting there, but I noticed she had moved a bit further of us. She wasn't looking at us, which I was grateful of.

"Errm, sorry about that, Thalia," I said, a bit ashamed.

Thalia turned to us.

"That's cool. I'm glad you can be together now," she said. I could see she meant it, but the smile she wore didn't reach her eyes.

_'Oh, yeah. Grover,'_ I thought. I wondered if she had made up her mind about him yet.

Annabeth sat up.

"Actually, there was a reason why I came over here," she said.

"Oh, something else than Lover Boy?" Thalia asked with mocking surprise.

I wasn't sure if I liked my friends calling me 'Lover Boy'.

Annabeth laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, but not necessarily more important," she said and moved her hand on top of mine. I flipped mine around and our fingers intertwined. My thumb made circles on the back of her hand.

"Well, let's hear it," I said.

"Chiron asked me to remind you about 'Capture the Flag' tonight and also ask if Thalia would want to join in. Rachel already said she would."

"Of course I will take part!" Thalia exclaimed. "Truce?"

"You don't have any goods to offer, but I guess my siblings will approve," Annabeth said and smiled.

"Great! I can't wait!" Thalia said.

I glanced at my watch.

"Guys, it's almost time for cabin inspection. If I remember right, it's my turn to inspect. Wanna join me?" I asked.

"Sure," they both said and we went to inspect the cabins.

After the inspection it was time for lunch. After that there would've been afternoon practice, but Thalia, Annabeth, Grover, Nico and I ditched. We had had enough practice for one day on the Monster Doughnut -island (well, Nico hadn't exactly been with us, but he just didn't feel like practicing and he wanted to catch up with us).

After dinner it was time for 'Capture the Flag'. This time the teams were Athena, me, Thalia, Apollo, Hermes and some minor gods versus the others.

Our team cheered wildly as Annabeth and her siblings carried Athena's banner to the Mess Hall. From the other side of the pavilion came the Ares cabin, carrying their flag. Their team roared with enthusiasm. It was just like the first time I'd played 'Capture the Flag'.

Annabeth winked at me from where she stood, holding their sliver silk flag. I felt my face flush. She had finally told me about her plan. It was simple: people would think we were weak and we would be placed in border patrol. Then, when the other team would try to get past our defense line, we would stop them and our team would be free to snatch the others' flag. Told you it was simple.

Chiron walked in the middle of the pavilion so that everyone could see and hear him. Lucy was riding on his back. She wasn't allowed to join in this time, since she hadn't had any practice yet.

All the time Chiron had his speech on rules and stuff, I was watching Annabeth. I couldn't believe I even deserved her. She was too good to be true, let alone meant for me. She was wearing a bronze breastplate over a black t-shirt and her hair was hidden under a helmet with a blue horsehair plume. Gods, I loved that girl. I thanked the gods over and over again for letting us be together. I still wasn't sure, though, if her siblings approver of our relationship. Well, maybe they would when they found out, that their mother had given us her blessing.

"Alright, heroes! Take your positions!" Chiron roared.

"Blue team, follow me!" shouted Malcolm and waved toward the forest.

Annabeth ran to me, slipping her hand in mine. We walked along with our team to the forest.

Malcolm came to us.

"You two don't mind if you... errm... stayed in border patrol?" he asked. I could see he was ashamed, but he was a good troop leader. No one wanted weak links in key positions.

Annabeth and I glanced at each other. I suppressed a smile. Of course, we weren't weak links anymore, but no one knew that, except for Thalia, Grover and Rachel, and they had been sworn to secrecy until we would reveal our powers.

"Sure, bro. No problem," said Annabeth and we took our positions by the creek alongside Rachel, who was playing for the first time, and some new guy from Nike's cabin.

"Oh my gods, this is _so_ exciting!" Rachel squealed. She had seen the game once, but never played it before and she was bursting with enthusiasm.

"I know, right?" I laughed.

"Just watch out for the Ares' cabin," warned Annabeth. "They can be brutal."

"Can be? If they're _not_ brutal, that would be a first!" I huffed.

"Cool! I can be brutal, too!" Rachel said.

That was true. If you have never seen Rachel with a blue plastic hairbrush, you can't even imagine how aggressive she can get.

The conch horn blowed and the air was filled with battle cries. Rachel looked as if she was gonna jump out of her pants. I had to admit, I was excited, too. Last time I'd played 'Capture the Flag', I'd gotten my ass kicked by Clarisse. This time it would be the other way round.

One of Apollo's kids charged from behind the bushed beside us, jumped over the creek and ran to the enemy's side. That was Annabeth's cue to change her helmet into her cap. She rarely needed a helmet in battle.

"Let's kick ass, Seaweed Brain," I heard her say from beside me and I felt her lips on my cheek.

I tried to say something cool, like 'Yeah' or 'Totally', but it came out as 'Uh-huh'.

A second later three Ares kids dashed through the shrubbery and undergrowth.

"Ha! Are you ready to get pulverized, Punk?" yelled Clarisse, who was dressed in her red camouflage, as usual, her short hair pulled in a bandana.

"Come and get me, smelly!" I prompted.

"Yeah, bring it on!" shouted Rachel. I wished she wouldn't get herself hurt too bad.

"Aaargh!" Clarisse cried as she charged at me and Rachel, flanked by her siblings – a big, beefy guy, who I recalled was called Cory and a big, beefy girl, who's name I couldn't remember, but I really didn't care.

Clarisse and her brother took me as their target. The other girl attacked Rachel.

"Where did you leave your _girlfriend_, Prissy?" Clarisse taunted as our swords hit together.

"You'll see, Pig Snout," I snapped back and jabbed.

Clarisse sidestepped and lunged at me, but I dodged her strike.

"Nervous, Punk? You're about to get creamed!" she sneered.

"Oh really?" I asked.

Next to us, Clarisse's brother tried to take a lunge at me, but something caught his sword mid-air. Annabeth was on a roll. She hit poor Cory in the face and disarmed him so quickly, that if I were him, I would've been ashamed of myself.

"Oh, there's Princess," Clarisse said and dodged my strike, but something in her expression changed. She was getting suspicious, when we didn't lose so easily.

From the corner of my eye I saw the other girl fighting with Rachel and the Nike boy. Rachel was doing pretty good. Apparently our advice hadn't fallen on deff ears.

I went for the overhead strike, but Clarisse parried it.

"Is that the best you can do, Prissy? If it is, you'd better give in for good!" she sneered.

"You want best, Clarisse? I'll give you best!"

I called for the river as I sidestepped to avoid Clarisse's jab. I felt a faint tugging in my gut and a huge wave of water splashed on Clarisse, knocking her off her feet.

"Aggh!" Clarisse spluttered as she scrambled up. Too bad she had lost her sword in the water.

"I'll have you for that, Jackson!" she screamed.

At the same moment, Jenny ran with the red team's flag on our side of the river, flanked by Heather and Malcolm.

The conch horn blowed. We had won.

Malcolm, Jenny and Heather looked at the spluttering Clarisse, disarmed Cory and the other Ares girl and then me and Annabeth, who had just taken off her invisibility hat and was smiling brightly as always after a victorious battle.

"How..." Malcolm started, but he couldn't find the words to end the sentence.

I grinned at him.

Jenny and Heather's jaws fell.

"You two..." Jenny said and pointed her finger from me to Annabeth and back again.

The rest of our team ran to the creek, cheering happily. We all ran to meet them. There was an enthusiastic round of slamming each others backs and laughing and shaking hands. In the middle of the disorder, I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned around and Annabeth threw her hands around my neck. All the noise around us seemed to fade as she kissed me. I wrapped my arms securely around Annabeth's waist and answered her kiss.

"Guys? Hey, guys! Just look at these two!" I heard someone shout. A little voice in my head told me it was Malcolm, but I couldn't care less. I was in a bliss.

There was a series of 'awws' and giggles. Annabeth pulled away from my face, her face flushed.

"Good game, huh?" she asked, lifting her other eyebrow.

"Yeah," I answered.

Annabeth let go of my neck and turned around in my arms to face the crowd, that had suddenly went all quiet and everyone was looking at us.

"Please don't let us disturb you. Go back to your knitting!" she said.

"What is this, Annabeth?" Heather asked.

_'Oh, please don't be mad at me,'_ I thought.

"Does mom know about this?" asked Jenny.

"She gave us her blessing and so did Poseidon," Annabeth said.

There was an ear-piercing silence.

"Oh my gods, really?" asked Malcolm. I can't even describe the surprised expression on his face.

"Yeah, you got a problem with it?" asked Annabeth.

The cabin six kids looked at each other. Then Malcolm and Jenny stepped closer to us.

"Who are we to judge you if the gods approve," Jenny said.

"Take good care of our sister, will you, Jackson?" Malcolm asked.

"Of course I will," I said and kissed the top of Annabeth's head.

"Just keep the snogging to the minimum," said Jenny.

The whole crowd laughed.

"We'll see about that, Jen," Annabeth grinned.

"Alright, heroes! It's time for the victory celebration! Everyone to the amphitheater!" Chiron shouted and blew his conch horn again.

Everyone ran towards the edge of the forest. All except me and Annabeth. I still held her in my arms. She turned around to face me again.

"I love you, you know that?" she said.

"I know, actually, but it's nice to hear it once in a while," I said and smiled. "And you know what?" I asked.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"I love you more. Guess what else?"

"Tell me," Annabeth said and kissed my lips quickly.

"I was right all along," I said.

"About what?"

"That everything would end up fine and no one would die."

"Well I'll let you have that. Still, I wonder what the last line of the prophecy meant. The 'grief and mourning' – part," Annabeth said. She frowned.

"I don't know, but one thing is for certain," I said.

"What's that?" asked Annabeth.

"Come what may, I'll always, always love you," I said and kissed her once more.

"Should we go to celebrate our victory?" she asked.

"Yeah, maybe we should," I said and we walked to the amphitheater hand in hand.

"Oh, by the way. You're wrong about one thing," Annabeth said as we walked to our teammates, who were waiting for the laurels.

"And what's that?" I asked her.

"You can't possibly love me more than I love you. That's just plain silly!" she said.

"That's debatable," I said and lifted her hand to my lips.

**

* * *

**

Thalia's POV

Chiron presented our team with golden laurels and the celebration began. The Apollo cabin lead a sing-along with lyres and pipes. We sang along the typical camp songs, along with some songs, that people wished they would play. Dryads grilled meat in huge skewers and served drinks and fresh strawberries.

Everyone was in a jubilant mood. Except me.

I hadn't spoken to Grover much since we rescued him and Lucy from the Monster Doughnut -island, but I could tell, that he wanted to talk to me about whatever thing he was supposed to talk to me about. I dreaded that moment when he'd come to talk to me, because that meant I'd have to tell him I'd made my decision between him and the Hunters. I loathed myself for making the decision between two things most important to me, but I couldn't wave both. I had to choose one or the other and I had decided.

I was chatting and sipping sodas with Nico in the seats of the amphitheater, when Percy, Annabeth, Rachel and (oh, hades) Grover came to sit with us. Apparently after our latest adventure together, Annabeth and Rachel had started to get along much better. Maybe it was, because Annabeth knew just how much she meant to Percy. I was happy for them. They had found peace with each other, their parents and Annabeth had sorted things out with her siblings too.

I wished I would find peace someday.

After a while of talking and laughing, Percy and Annabeth went to grab some barbeque.

"Hey, wait for me!" Nico squealed and ran after them.

Rachel looked at me apologetically.

"You have to do it sometime," she whispered when Grover wasn't paying attention and ran to the others.

So, I was left alone with Grover, probably sweating bullets.

"You okay, Thalia? You aren't looking that good," Grover asked.

"I'm good, just getting a bit tired," I lied.

"Oh, okay," Grover said.

There was a long awkward silence.

"Did Percy forward my greetings to you?" Grover finally asked.

"Yeah, you wanted to talk to me about something," I said. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure Grover could hear it, too.

"Yeah. About that," he said, fiddling with the hem of his 'Got hooves?' -t-shirt.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I really need to discuss with you, Thalia."

Gods, I _so_ wanted to be anywhere than here. Sometimes I wished a hole would appear beneath my feet and I'd fall in it and no one could find me there.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, before you left with Percy, Rachel and Annabeth I started to realize, that there might be something more between us, than friendship. I know, it's stupid, but I had this feeling, that I should talk about it with you," Grover said. He wasn't looking at me, but rather the soda can I was holding in my hand.

"Please, don't hate me," he pleaded.

I was left speechless. He had the guts to tell me how he felt and I would break his huge goat heart.

"Grover, I don't hate you. Why would I?" I said. I was trying to stick with as few words as possible, because I was afraid my voice would crack.

"I just thought, that I might be imagining things," Grover said, still eyeing my soda can.

"Do you want this? You look like you could use something to nibble on," I offered him my can.

"Thanks," he said and grabbed it.

"Well, errm... What do you think?" Grover asked after taking a huge chunk of metal in his mouth and swallowing it.

I didn't know what to say. This would be my time to break Grover's heart. I didn't want to do it.

"I know what you're talking about," I started. "I was starting to think, that we could perhaps be something more than friends."

"But?" Grover asked. Damn him with his ability to read emotions! He knew already how I couldn't be with him.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't love to be more than friends with you," I rushed to say. "I want that. But I'm a Hunter."

"I understand, Thalia," said Grover. "You took the oath." His big brown goat-eyes started to fill with moisture.

"Gods, Grover. Please don't cry!" I cried out. "Not for me!"

"Sorry," he sniffled.

"No, Grover. _I'm_ sorry! Really, really sorry," I said. I felt miserable.

"It's okay. I should have known. I just hoped..." his voice trailed off.

"I understand. I hoped, too, but I owe it to Artemis. She saved me from drowning the night we got wrecked," I told him. He knew everything about how we'd marooned on Ogygia.

I thought of Calypso. She was all alone on her island, scarred from the occasional visitors, whom she fell in love with. Including us. I felt schmuck.

"I'm so sorry about this, Grover," I said. There was nothing else I could say.

"I get it," said Grover. His face was filled with defeat. "I think I'm going to sleep. Night, Thalia."

Before I could say or do anything, he stood up and raced away from the amphitheater, leaving me alone.

Gods, I hated myself.

**

* * *

**

Annabeth's POV

Leaving Thalia alone with Grover bothered me, since I wasn't sure if she had already thought things straight, but Percy convinced me it was okay. The four of us: Nico, Rachel, Percy and I went to grab some delicious barbeque. The grub in Ogygia had been great, too, but I was glad to get some familiar camp food.

Rachel was enthusiastic about the victory party. This was her first time playing, never to mention winning. After a while of eating, talking and partying though, Rachel announced, that she was going to rest before the fireworks. Nico tagged along with her, saying he was tired, too. I suppose Nico wasn't into parties that much.

After Rachel and Nico left, Percy and I took the opportunity to have some time alone. We left the amphitheater and started to walk aimlessly around.

"Gods, I can't believe summer is almost over," I said as we lounged past the canoe lake.

"Mm-hm," Percy agreed.

I slipped my hand in his. I was infinitely happy and hoped, that the moment would never end. Just me and Percy, with the moonlight and the stars above us.

We walked past the cabins and the Mess Hall, all the way to the fireworks beach. There we sat down on the sand, side by side. Percy wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned against his side. He kissed my hair. I lifted my face to catch his lips with mine. He cupped my face with his hand. His other hand pulled my hair off my shoulder. Then his lips moved to my throat, just at the base of my jaw. My hands flew in his hair and I lifted my head a bit to give him better access to my throat. Percy kissed hungrily along my jaw, up till my ear. His lips' contact with my earlobe sent chills of pleasure down my spine. My breath came in as a loud gasp, which kinda embarrassed me, but I really didn't care.

"Aww, just look what we have here!" came a voice behind us. A voice I knew too well and was highly afraid of.

Percy stopped kissing me, startled by the comer and we both turned around to face the goddess of love, who had snuck behind us. She was looking at us with the alcoholic eyes again, which annoyed me very, very much.

"Evening, lady Aphrodite," Percy bowed slightly.

"Hello, Percy. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I couldn't help myself when I found out your parents have given you their blessing! I had to see how you two are and I am pleased with what I saw there," said Aphrodite. Gods, I really didn't like that woman. Always looking for couples to bother. "And _please_, you need to stop calling me 'lady'. Aphrodite will do."

"Oh, okay, _Aphrodite_," Percy corrected.

"That's better," Aphrodite smiled. "Now, I want to hear _everything!_"

She sat down on the sand, facing us.

"Oh, when I first noticed how obsessed you were of Annabeth, Percy, I told Eros, my son, 'they _will_ end up together' and there you are! I'm so happy I could cry!" she babbled.

"Oh, please don't!" Percy hurried to say, but Aphrodite was already searching for a tissue from her handbag.

She blew her nose.

"Well, Annabeth! You've been quiet," she said then. _'Calm down, girl. She'll soon go away. Then there will be the fireworks and you can spend the rest of the night with Percy,'_ I told myself.

"Tell me, how did it feel when your mother finally let you two be together?" Aphrodite inquired.

"Umm..." I said. I didn't want to share my thoughts with that woman! "Good?"

"Oh, I like it! Good's terrific!" Aphrodite enthused. She reminded me of gossip magazine reporters. "And Percy, you actually took a knife for her!" she said.

Percy blushed. "Yeah, well, I did. She'd done it for me and I didn't want her to get hurt so-"

"Oh, so romantic! Defying death they show their love to the world! They will write odes and novels about you two! I tell you, your story would sell better than Romeo and Juliet," said Aphrodite.

Why couldn't she just leave already?

"Oh, then one more thing: what do you think of your friends' relationship? Grover and that Hunter friend of yours?" Aphrodite asked.

Gods, I didn't want to talk about this subject. It was Thalia and Grover's business.

"I'm sure they'll do what's best for them," said Percy. I couldn't understand how he could be so calm with this woman! Jeez!

"Yes, they probably will," I said.

I could see Aphrodite wasn't satisfied with our answer.

"Yes, well I have to go now, but I'll see you two sweethearts later! You have my blessing, too!" she said and vanished. Only a smell of perfume hung after her.

"Gods I hate that woman! And she comes at the worst moments, too," I said and looked at Percy. "Now where were we..." I leaned closer to him and pressed my lips against his.

At that moment, campers started flowing to the beach. It was time for the fireworks. Nico and Rachel found us and joined us where we sat. Even Grover showed up. He looked like he'd been crying, but I couldn't be sure. It was quite dark there, at the beach. I supposed things had gone badly with Thalia. I tried to look for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The fireworks were the same as they had been every year, but never had they been as nice to watch as this time. Maybe it had a little something to do with the boy sitting next to me. Still, the absence of Thalia bothered me. I'd have to talk to her later.

After the fireworks Chiron ordered people to their cabins. It was almost midnight after all. Percy and I stayed behind the crowd in order to avoid the curious glances, that were thrown at us in a regular basis. We walked slowly and soon fell far behind the others.

"Let's stay out for a little longer," Percy suggested and raised his eyebrows.

"Sure," I agreed and we snuck past the cabins silently. Thank the gods, everyone else had already cone inside.

We made our way all the way up to Half-Blood Hill. We sat down there and watched the sleeping camp. It was peaceful. Life was perfect.

Then I heard a snap, like a twig breaking in two. Percy and I glanced around and we saw Thalia. She had frozen in her place. Apparently she'd been trying to sneak past us. She was wearing trekking gear and she carried a small backpack and her hunting bow and quiver.

"Thalia!" I called at her. We stood up and walked to her.

"Hey Annabeth, hi Percy," she said.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Percy.

In the moonlight Thalia looked as if she'd been crying a lot.

"Gods, I'm sorry, Thalia. You talked with Grover?" I asked carefully.

She nodded.

"And?"

"I took an oath. I'm a Hunter now. I owe it to my lady," she said. "How's Grover?"

"Pretty shaken. How are _you_?" Percy said.

"I... need some time for myself. I'm going back to the Hunters," Thalia said. A small tear made its way down her cheek.

"Oh, Thalia," I said and was about to hug her, but she stopped my arms.

"I'm fine. You take care of each other," she said, turned around and I watched as my best friend run down the hill and disappear into the darkness.

Percy smoothed my hair.

"Don't worry," he said. "She'll come back. She just needs some time."

"Yeah," I said, but I couldn't help feeling sad. I'd gotten everything I'd wanted and Thalia was forced to choose. Life wasn't fair. I would've traded my ability to think any time if Thalia could have both Grover and a life as a Hunter.

I wrapped my arms around Percy's neck. He wrapped his around my waist.

"So that was probably the last line of the prophecy, huh?" he said.

"Yup," I said. "You know, we should probably get back to our cabins. If the guard harpies won't eat us, then my siblings will."

"You're probably right," said Percy. "But before that..."

He pressed his lips once against mine.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain," I said.

"I love you," he said. "Until the end of time."

And we started to walk down to the cabins, his hand in mine, where it belonged.

* * *

**This, my dear readers, was the last chapter of 'Come what may'. Thank you all for flying with Athena's cabin! A special thanks to DarkAngel94524, who has encouraged me to write, to AnnabethIsTheBest and DragoNik, my regular reviewers and to You, who have stuck with my scribble to the very end. **

**Don't worry, though. My writing career isn't over yet. You'll be seeing me around! :)**

**I'm still looking forward for your ideas and thoughts about my next fic. **

**Until next time,**

**Peace, love, PJO**

**Luv,**

**AC**

**P.S. I'm still running with reviews :)**


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